


Carnivorous Plants

by TheLateNightStoryTeller



Series: Stories from a Parallel Universe [4]
Category: Carnivorous Plants - Fandom
Genre: And Hydra isn't such a big issue, F/M, Giant Carnivorous Plants with a taste for human Flesh, M/M, Post season 1 AU where Fitz and Simmons are together, Wakanda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2014-11-14
Packaged: 2018-02-25 08:17:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2614790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLateNightStoryTeller/pseuds/TheLateNightStoryTeller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set in a future AU after the first season finale where Fitz and Simmons are together (everything up to the finale is true for this story) The team gets a mission in Wakanda investigating giant carnivorous plants which are eating the local people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nature Doesn't Recognize Good and Evil

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place in a non-canon universe after the finale where Fitz and Simmons are together and Fitz is pretty much recovered. I have written other stories in this universe and this one takes place between Alone in the World and Monster Goo. (But you don't really have to read those to read this one.)
> 
> It is the response to a prompt from notapepper. Yay! Thank you! It is set in the imaginary Marvel nation of Wakanda and will feature notapeppper's monkeys from Oh to be Young the Zakadels :D.
> 
> I put a reference to the science fiction show Fringe in every chapter of every one of my stories (usually) so feel free to look out for it if you want even if you don't know what Fringe is. It may stick out as something unusual like a polka dotted cow or pet badgers. ;). Sometimes it is also a line from the show I like or the title of an episode.

Nezhno and Iroro sped along over the tall grass, between the trees, on their hover-boards, secured by their harnesses in case of a fall. The devices were hardwired to stop if one of them tumbled off, which Iroro's younger sister Baku often did. She always hopped right back on though.

Nezhno didn't understand her constant need to tag along with them (didn't she have friends her own age?) however he had to admit, the kid was a scrapper.

She caught up with them now, her board careening back and forth ungracefully as she fought to keep her balance and Iroro tsked irritably at her.

"Go home Baku," she scolded. "Mom wouldn't want you out here."

"She wouldn't want you out here at night either. Why don't I go back and tell her what you're doing?" Baku countered breezily and Nezhno chuckled. "Besides," she added nervously. "I think I saw a lion prowling around."

"You wouldn't be enough for a lion Keke-aaya," Iroro joked. "Come along if you'd like but don't cry when you get scared."

They reached a patch of trees and Baku fell silent, concentrating on weaving through them.

She fell behind again and did not catch up after a minute as she had before. Her desperate screams suddenly shrilled through the air and Nezhno and Iroro glanced at each other, alarmed, before doubling back.

They found her, struggling against the vines of a plant which twisted around her body and arms. To Nezhno's horror, it was pulling her towards a gaping mouth.

"Help!" she cried, terrified. "Iroro, help me!"

Iroro unbuckled the harness and leapt off her board, landing on her feet between her sister and the plant's terrifying mouth. The mouth was brightly coloured and open, long like a snout, with thorns that jutted out along the edge of what would be the lips, had it been an animal, like pointed teeth.

It sprung forward with dizzying speed and engulfed Iroro, trapping her behind the thorns and she began screaming, pounding on them in an attempt to escape, however the plant's flesh grew over the opening so that it was a closed pocket and her screams were muffled behind it.

The vine's released Baku and she sprung forward to help Nezhno in his attempts to free her sister.

Iroro had stopped fighting against the plant, fallen silent and as they hit the snout with rocks and sticks the vines moved again, creeping towards them.

"She's gone," he told Baku wretchedly but the young girl continued to smash against the plant, barely scratching the tough flesh. "Baku we need to get out of here."

"No," she raged at him, squirming and kicking him as he pulled her away. "Let me go," she sobbed.

"Baku if we stay it will kill us too," he warned gruffly, lifting her up. "We'll go back and get help."

Having a task must have focused her because she let him place her back down and scrambled onto her hover-board, zooming away without looking behind her to see if he was following, her board threatening to flip over as she turned sharply to avoid the trees.

Nezhno knew it was too late to get help, but he didn't know what else to do so he sped after her anyway.

/-/-/

"Fitz... what are you covered in?" Skye asked as Leo tromped into the kitchen.

"Mud," he grumbled, searching through the cabinets. Where was it? It had to be here somewhere, he'd seen it last night.

"Why?" she wondered, confused.

"Because nature hates me," he complained. "And I fell into a bloody ravine trying to get that damn flower, which I crushed, before landing in a patch of brambles and then, of course, tumbling into the ooey, gooey, disgusting mud at the bottom." he ranted.

"At least it's not poo," Skye pointed out, in what might have been an attempt to cheer him up.

"Now I'll need to shower," he despaired. "This was supposed to be a surprise."

"What was supposed to be a surprise?" Jemma asked, sounding slightly concerned as she appeared in the kitchen and his plan was completely ruined. "What are you covered in?"

"Not poo," Skye offered and Jemma tilted her head at her while Leo let out a groan of frustration. "Hey, I am just trying to look on the bright side," she defended. "But Mr. Grumpy over there decided he hates nature."

"Nature hates me!" he corrected short-temperedly.

All he'd wanted to do was surprise Jemma with a bouquet of wild flowers but now he was covered in mud and thorns and had leaves and sticks, sticking out of his clothes and Skye was going on about poo, which wasn't very romantic at all and he couldn't find the stupid vase to put the flowers in. Everything was completely ruined, even after he'd gotten up early and spent almost an hour trekking through the woods, risking being eaten by some wild animal and actually being eaten by swarms of mosquitoes.

"Nature can't hate you Fitz," Jemma reminded him, somewhere between scolding and amused. "Nature doesn't recognize hate, or good and evil. Just balance and imbalance."

"Well I certainly lost my balance," he muttered and now her expression turned sympathetic as she came over and lifted his chin so she could kiss his nose, which wasn't muddy.

"What were you doing outside so early?" she asked, as he took a wash cloth and wiped some of the mud off his face before he took it and continued her work.

He sighed and moved aside so she could the wildflowers he'd collected.

She lit up when she saw them, lifting the bundle to examine it.

"Oh look,  _Digitalis lanata_ , Grecian foxglove," she added to Skye, who had raised an eyebrow at her. "It contains a powerful cardiac glycoside which has been used to treat heart conditions, digitoxin. It's also a toxin of course and it can cause nausea, cardiac arrhythmias-"

"Why is it in the kitchen then?" Skye exclaimed.

"Hey! I was just- I was putting them in some water not mixing them into the Shreddies," Leo objected, offended.

In truth, he hadn't know the plant was poisonous, he'd simply thought it looked pretty. Ellie Sattler of Jurassic Park would have been ashamed.

"Sweetheart this is wonderful," Jemma chirped, forgetting the mud and kissing him enthusiastically, smudging some of it onto her nose. "Maybe I can isolate some of the toxin, wouldn't that be fun? Come help me," she added, grabbing his hand and leading him off to the lab. "Bye Skye! Unless you'd like to come along."

"I'm OK," she replied indifferently, rising to take out a mug and pour herself a cup of coffee. "Have fun with your plants."

She loved it, Leo thought proudly, feeling a little dopey after her reaction. He still turned oey goey inside when she called him sweetheart and he was delighted that he'd made her so happy. She was bouncing along in front of him, flowers one hand, his in the other and she turned for a moment, a wide grin on her beautiful face, overflowing with her affection for him and filling him with so much joy he felt as if he were floating.

He didn't hate nature, nature was fantastic.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nezhno, Iroro and Baku are not speaking English (or thinking in English) at the beginning. Think of it as if you had a babble fish in your ear when you read that part (you can understand it even if you don't speak the language)
> 
> Keke-Aaya is from me putting in little (kekere) and then monkey (aaya) into google translate for the language Yoruba (which is spoken in parts of West Africa and apparently in Wakanda.)
> 
> Their names are based off the Wakandian characters Nezhno, Ororo and M'Baku
> 
> The hover boards are based on the ones from the book The Uglies by Scott Westerfield, except they don't need metal underneath them to work. Wakanda is suppose to be very technologically advanced and I thought they would be cool for them to have.
> 
> The Fringe reference is the "nature doesn't recognize good and evil, nature only recognizes balance and imbalance." Walternate says at one point in the series and I thought it fit this story pretty well.
> 
> The stuff on foxglove and digitoxin is from wikipedia and plants for a cause org
> 
> Ellie Sattler was a paleobotanist in the movie Jurassic park, she once said (in either the book or the movie, I don't remember) that the people who owned the park were foolish for keeping all these deadly plants around just because they were pretty.


	2. Please Don't go Getting yourself Eaten By a Plant

Leo stood between Jemma and Skye, listening to Coulson brief them on their newest mission.

"Shield has a very fragile relationship with Wakanda," he was informing them, flashing a map of Africa on the screen on which the nation was coloured in red."And we do our best to keep it a good one because we purchase a lot of important resources from them,"

"They have one of the only known Vibranium mounds in the world," Leo put in excitedly. "They've been selling it to Shield for decades now, do you think we'll get to see it?"

"It's off limits to any foreigner," May reminded him. "Fragile relationship, remember?"

"Oh yeah... right," he mumbled disappointedly.

Jemma placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's radioactive anyway," she pointed out sympathetically. "You'd be exposed to more radiation than if you were getting an x-ray going to visit that. I'm sure we'll see some Zakedels though," she added, smiling in an attempt to cheer him, and he brightened at the thought of the clever little monkeys. "Oh and perhaps a golden haired tarantula," she bubbled. "Their venom contains several kinds of neurotoxic proteins found nowhere else in the world."

"Fun," Skye said sarcastically. "Scary spiders, check. Isn't anyone going to mention that their computer systems are the stuff?" She gushed, as thrilled as Jemma was about the tarantulas and as Leo had been a minute ago about the Vibranium mound. "They were developed completely separate from the rest of the world, their code is nearly impossible to hack. Even I'd have trouble with it."

"I bet you could do it though," Trip guessed, nudging her affectionately on her other side and she grinned at him.

"Maybe," she said.

"Guys, focus," Coulson ordered and they returned their attention to him. "We aren't there for mining or monkeys or neurotoxins or hacking, we're there for this."

He switched the image on the screen so that a clean, fleshless human skeleton appeared.

"This is Iroro O'Gherti," he said solemnly. "She was 19 years old, living in the small village of Shuria. Yesterday Iroro, her sister and a friend were out in the bush when they ran into one of these," the image changed again to a group of people holding up a butchered plant, brightly coloured with long green vines and wicked thorns on what almost looked like a flower, but was too chopped up for Leo to have identified it even if he were familiar with tropical plants. "It... ate Iroro. The other two went for help but it was too late."

"It ate her?" Skye gasped. "She was eaten by a plant?"

"Poor girl," Jemma put in. "There are many species of carnivorous plants, all around the world, but I've never seen one so big. Wakanda is know for its mutant species though, even some of the people have developed certain attributes due to the high levels of radiation. Increased intelligence, super strength. One woman even claimed she could see the future but," she scoffed, "that can't be possible, it'd be as complicated as time travel, imagine all the damage it would do even if there was a reasonable explanation."

"You haven't explained me yet," Skye teased, referring to her telekinetic abilities and Jemma rose an eyebrow at her.

"Give me another week, I'll work it out," she replied smugly and Leo smiled fondly at her, even though she was turned away from him.

Of course she would, there wasn't a problem Jemma couldn't solve, no answer she couldn't find.

"If they killed it, why do they need us?" Trip wondered, bringing their attention back to the case.

"Because there are more of them," Coulson said, changing the image once more to a map of the area around Shuria. "The red dots, here, here and here," he pointed, "represent locations in which there have been confirmed sightings and unconfirmed reports are coming in from all over the region."

"So it's a new species?" Jemma asked, almost excitedly and Leo felt his insides twist around nervously because he knew that look.

She wanted to investigate, go poke her nose in it. The expression 'curiosity killed the cat' came to mind but he pushed away the thought, reminding himself that Jemma was far more sensible than any cat. She'd be fine and besides no plant was going to eat his sweetheart if he was around, not without him putting up one hell of a fight anyway. He made a note to pack something to cut through thick plant flesh, like a laser.

"Looks that way," May replied. "Are we going in to exterminate it?"

"Well, that's where things get tricky," Coulson sighed. "Under Wakandian law, all novel species are protected, destroying them is illegal unless they're considered a food source. Those villagers almost faced fines for killing the one plant but the government decided to let it go because..."

"Because it ate a teenage girl," May offered and he nodded.

"Yeah," he answered.

"So what do we then?" Leo inquired. "We can't just quarantine off all the areas they grow."

"They could spread across the whole country," Jemma agreed. "If it's an efficient enough predator and can survive and reproduce easily it may not take long for that to happen."

"And then we'd have a serious problem," Leo added grimly.

"Still it doesn't seem right to wipe out an entire species," Jemma lamented.

"It probably does for the people who live there," Skye reasoned.

"Can't they make an exception?" May asked. "The government must care what happens to its people."

"I'm sure they do," Coulson replied. "But the researchers there have began studying the remains of the plant and they've isolated novel compounds from it which could have life saving medical applications in the region for people suffering from exposure to the high levels of radiation, especially Vibranium miners."

"So it's bad that it's eating people, but they want to keep it around because it could be a the key to a miracle drug," Trip summarized.

"Exactly," Coulson nodded.

This was becoming more and more complicated by the second. Kill the damn things, don't kill the damn things... people would probably die as a consequence of either decision. All Leo had wanted was to see a few Zakadels in the wild, maybe a vervet monkey or two and catch a glimpse of the Vibranium mound or at least get to see some of the incredible technology the country was famous for. But, of course, as a Shield agent he had other things to be concerned about, like the great plant debate. And as Jemma's partner, best friend and boyfriend, he had her boundless curiosity to worry about. Usually it was adorable, refreshing, contagious, but now the thought of her going anywhere near those things filled him with dread. Couldn't the problem have been giant robots? How cool would that be? Then they wouldn't need to send her nose first into danger.

'She's an agent, she has job to do,' he scolded himself. 'You're being ridiculous.'

However he remembered Iroro's bones, picked clean by whatever horrible juices and enzymes or acid or both were inside those things and didn't feel at all like he was being ridiculous.

/-/-/

Leo glanced up again at Jemma from where he sat on the sofa beside her. He was sitting with his back against one arm and she was leaning against the other with her legs sticking out to one side towards him so that their feet were touching and she could play with his toes when she wanted his attention. Which was about every three minutes, whenever she discovered something else to get excited about, but he didn't mind, she was adorable and her dancing toes tickled his own pleasantly.

"You'll be careful, right?" he asked her, placing his tablet on the table. He'd been trying to figure out how to bring this up without sounding paranoid and overprotective, stealing glimpses of her gorgeous face as she read up on carnivorous plant species.

"What do you mean," she wondered, attention on the article she was reading on coniine, a toxic alkaloid found in the nectar of  _Sarracenia flava_.

"When we find the plants.." he said slowly, "the kind that killed Iroro, you won't... I mean I know you'll want to figure out everything out about them that you can but... Jemma please don't go getting yourself eaten by a plant." he blurted out. "I couldn't handle it if anything happened to you."

She tilted her head to the side and looked at him as if he were being silly. "Do you really think I want to get eaten by plant?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows at him.

"No, of course not," he mumbled. "But you're the biochemist, you're the one they're going to send in there-"

"Not alone," she reminded him, moving towards him and taking his hand, pulling it to her lips so she could softly kiss his fingers. "I know it's scary sweetheart, but we're a team, all of us and this is what we do. It'll be fine."

He nodded before reaching into his pocket. "Here, I want you to have these, just in case," he said, handing her a small army of gadgets and she sighed as she set aside what she had been looking at to take them. "This is a beacon, you can set it off if you're in trouble, a miniature laser to get you out of a pinch, a localized EMP..."

"Aren't you going to be with me the whole time?" she asked, confused. "What could I possibly need this for?" she added, holding up one of their noisemakers.

"So we can hear you from the belly of the beast," he explained, as if it were obvious. "And of course I'll be with you, like I said it's just a precaution."

She gave him a small, patient smile and placed his offerings on the table before holding out her hands to him.

"Come here," she invited and he shuffled over into her arms, resting his chin against the top of her shoulder and his cheek against hers, holding her tightly against him. "We're going to solve this problem together," she insured him, "like we always do and everyone is going to be fine and no one is going to get eaten. And we'll definitely see some Zakadels and try out a few new gadgets. It'll be fun, you'll see."

"OK," he murmured.

"I'll keep them in my bag though," she decided, referring to the gadgets. "And the laser in my pocket, just in case."

"Thanks," he whispered. "And maybe after we can go hunting for those golden haired tarantulas." he offered sitting up, still holding her around her sides and she kissed his nose before nuzzling her own against it.

"After we go monkey watching," she promised, eyes sparkling.

"That would be nice," he smiled, returning her nose nuzzle and moving his hand up to cup the side of her face.

"I had a feeling you'd think that," she giggled, lifting her hand to place over it and leaning into his palm.

He giggled with her before he kissed her lovely lips and she returned the kiss, slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck and making his stomach flip over.

Something clacked on the table and they both jumped, tangled together for a moment as they tried to spring apart.

"Sorry, just wanted to get my book," Coulson apologized. "Land of Laughs, first edition." He showed them the cover. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"No, no," Jemma giggled uncomfortably, her face tomato red.

"We were just... er..." Leo fumbled, matching her colouring.

"Reading up on a few things-" Jemma continued.

"I mean before..." Leo put in.

"We started..." Jemma added.

"Taking a break," "Doing the other thing," they told him.

"Sure, sounds good," Coulson dismissed, more interested in his book. "Wheels down in twenty." He updated them over his shoulder

They exhaled together when he left and Leo was grateful Coulson hadn't said anything to make the situation more embarrassing, but that was their leader, smooth as his well waxed car Lola.

"That was-" Leo said.

"Awkward," Jemma finished.

"Did you want to-" he started to say but she kissed him again and he stopped talking because his insides were doing acrobatics that would make a Zakadel jealous and he realized this was exactly what he wanted to be doing.

/-/-/

They were greeted by one of the villagers, a man named Zambuli, who would lead them to Shuria from the airport where they left the Bus.

"We are very glad that you are here to help," he told them with a slight Wakandian accent, smiling welcomingly as he shook each of their hands in turn. "We lost two hunters yesterday to those flesh eating fiends, they snatch them straight off their hover boards."

"Hunters?" Leo wondered in a hushed voice on Jemma's left as Zambuli conversed with Coulson.

"The people here have kept the traditional hunting and gathering traditions, despite all their technological advances," Skye explained quietly. "It's a huge source of conflict between the older generation and the younger one, who would rather let go of the old ways. Or at least that's what I got from what the younger Wakandians are tweeting... and from chatrooms. I've learned some pretty sweet code from a few Wakandian friends I made online and a lot of them said they wanted their parents off their backs about not believing in Bast."

"Bast?" Trip asked, joining their conversation.

"The panther goddess," Jemma explained, because she knew this one. "The primary deity of Wakanda."

They gathered into the truck, Jemma pausing to take a look around, Leo doing the same beside her. While she deciphered the species of trees by the foliage, she knew he was searching the branches for monkeys.

A few security drones, zooming above their heads around the airport, caught their attention momentarily before May called them into the truck.

"There are many more of those to see in Shuria," Zambuli assured them, amused as they slowly climbed in, eyes on the drones.

The route they took brought them through part of the Wakandian wilderness and as they bumped along the road Leo spotted a pair of vervet monkeys hanging from one of the nearby trees and bounced a little in his seat, chattering on about them as he beamed at her and pointing to be sure she saw them.

She smiled warmly at him, delighted at the way his smile stretched across his face and his eyes shone excitedly, before she looked back out the window, taking his hand as subtly as she could and stroking it lovingly with the bottom of her thumb.

The small laser in her pocket was pushed into her side by the door of the truck as they hit a sharp turn and she remembered his insistence that she pack it. She was glad he'd let go of that paranoia for the moment to enjoy the beautiful country.

They had new species of flora and fauna to see, giant mutant plants brimming with tantalizing new chemical compounds to discover and a country filled with new and exciting technology to explore. It was going to be a great trip, provided no one else was eaten, which Jemma was sure was not going to happen.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fringe reference is the book Land of Laughs. Peter's sketchy book friend tries to rip someone off by paying less than he should for a first edition to add to his shop, but Peter intervenes (much to his friends annoyance).
> 
> The Zakadels are from notapepper's story Oh to be Young and a huge thank you to them for all the great information they have given me on these guys! And for making them up in the first place :)
> 
> So, if you are reading one of my stories for the first time, Skye has super powers in this universe. Telekinisis which, at this point, she is still trying to figure out how to work.
> 
> Most of the stuff on Wakanda is based on wikipedia and the marvel comic database.


	3. We All Call her Gadget

Shuria was a small village, tiny houses lined the unpaved streets and in the center there was an old market which sold fruit, vegetables and meat as well as trinkets, necklaces, bags and a wide assortment of devices, some of which were recognizable such as phones and tablets and some of which were not including small, mechanical orbs whose purpose was unknown to Jemma.

Animals roamed the streets and children weaved hazardously between them on tiny hover-boards, earning themselves scolding shouts from a few of the adults.

Jemma didn't understand exactly what they were saying but she guessed it was something close to 'don't play on those in the middle of town,' or 'don't run over my chickens.'

The children were laughing as they sped away and one made a gesture which, judging by the reaction of one of the adults, Jemma thought might be the Wakandian equivalent of sticking your tongue out.

Many of the villagers stared as they drove by and Zambuli explained that they were not used to foreigners visiting here. Most went to the capital Jabari, where the country's queen, Shuri for which he proudly told them their village was named, resided.

Skye waved at a few of them and they grinned, waving back.

They stopped at the other end of the village, near a large building which looked a little like an auto shop.

"This is where we make and keep our boards and hover-crafts," he explained as they exited the vehicle, blasted by the heat which they had been protected from by the air-conditioning, "as well as most of the security equipment for the Vibranium mine. We call it Ile-ero, the machine center. We will be going the rest of the way in a hovercraft, it is easier because our roads are not very well kept. Not many Wakandians use wheeled vehicles in this area."

Jemma exchanged a thrilled glance with Leo at the mention of riding in a hovercraft.

"Do you think they're the same as the ones Shield has?" she wondered in a whisper. "Would they work the same way?"

"With fans creating a pressurized pocket of air beneath them?" he whispered back. "I don't know, maybe, but Wakanda was relatively isolated from the outside world for a long time, a hovercraft here may not be the same as hovercraft somewhere else."

"It may be something completely new," she bubbled, beaming at him.

"I know!" he replied excitedly, beaming right back, her enthusiasm satisfyingly reflected in his expression.

There was a wonderful kind of joy that came out of marveling together. Seeing the wonders of the world alone would have been amazing enough but seeing them with Leo was like seeing them twice, once through her own eyes, and again anew through his.

He had such gorgeous eyes, and a smile that lit up her world, made her happy wherever she was. She caught herself staring at him as they made their way inside, momentarily enchanted by the magical glow of his delight, beautiful and contagious.

She soon realized she wasn't the only one, one of the mechanics was staring with wide eyes, taking in all of them but resting her gaze on Leo.

She wasn't dressed in the bright, Wakandian style clothing of many of the other villagers but instead wore jeans and a grey t-shirt etched with white schematics of what looked to be a small drone.

Leo noticed her and tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowed questioningly, and she returned the gesture, almost as if she were puzzling him out, as if there was a question on the tip of her tongue.

"Gadget, come here," Zambuli called, laughing, and she awkwardly placed the fan blades she'd been holding on a desk before scrambling over.

"This is M'Gigit," he introduced. "But we all call her Gadget, she will help you find a hovercraft and answer any of your questions."

"Me?" she squeaked, her accent a bit thicker than Zambuli's.

"I am sure you will be perfectly capable," he assured her, amused. "And it will be a good opportunity for you to practice your English. Gadget would like to travel someday," he explained to them. "She is very interested in foreign technology, even though everyone knows Wakandian is the best," he joked and, though Jemma's team chuckled with him, Gadget remained silent, twisting the skin of her thumb nervously, her gaze darting quickly to Leo before staring again at her hands.

"Not all," she mumbled. "Japan is at the forefront of robotics and what has not been classified by Shield is...," another glance at Leo. "Impressive."

Zambuli chuckled at her again and Jemma suddenly understood. She was curious, perhaps she had questions just as they did. She couldn't figure out how Gadget knew Leo would be the best person to ask them to, but it must have been the reason why she had locked her eyes on him.

Gadget introduced herself to each of them brightly but she stopped, grin widening, when she reached Leo.

"You are agent Fitz, right?" she asked, tilting her head at him again and confirming Jemma's suspicion that she knew who he was.

"Yeah," he answered, surprised. "How did you..?" he looked at his shirt as if expecting to see a name tag and she chuckled at him.

"We were told who would be coming," she told him, amused. "I heard you and... agent Simmons?" she inquired, turning to Jemma.

"That's me," she greeted cheerfully. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Gadget replied. "I heard you two wondering about how our hovercrafts work and guessed who you were," she explained. "They are not the same as the ones you are familiar with, our hovercrafts, as well as our hover-boards, use a different method, small amounts of Gravitonite, the mineral form of gravitonium, and electrical charges."

"Gravitonium?" Leo and Jemma gasped together, remembering the dangerous element from a previous mission.

"It is much safer in this form," she assured them, seeing their expressions. "we have been using it for decades now. It means very little fuel is needed to propel the vehicle forward, they weigh almost nothing when they are turned on."

"That's incredible," "Cool," they exclaimed and her grin widened even further.

They were led to the hovercraft, a large, vehicle which looked like a rectangle that had been rounded at both ends with a removable canvas roof. It was held up on two thick metal bars which might have been a sort of landing dock.

Leo, leaned over to look underneath it as Gadget showed May how the controls worked.

"The Selectric 251 is the simplest to pilot," she was explaining. "It is slower than the newer models but should be OK for the short journey."

The others loaded onto the craft but Jemma lingered behind with Leo for a moment while May and Gadget discussed a few of the finer details regarding the steering.

"Gravitonite huh? Do you think she'll let us take one apart?" he wondered, quietly for only Jemma's ears, sounding as if he were hoping for an extra dessert. "What?" he asked, a small smile appearing when he looked back at her.

He must have noticed the warm bursts of affection shooting out of her like gamma rays.

"We're here for the plants," she reminded him, shaking her head but not really disapproving.

Giant carnivorous plants, she recalled, how fascinating was that? They were her hovercraft, not that she wasn't tempted by the idea of taking one apart with him. It was just that the thought of dissecting a new species, discovering new compounds and proteins, figuring out how it worked, won over as the more alluring option.

"I meant when we have a minute," he explained, beaming at her, returning her warmth. "You're dancing on your toes to get out there and see those monstrous creatures aren't you?" he mused and she nodded, because she most definitely was.

"Of course you are," he mumbled fondly before hopping into the hovercraft beside Coulson and helping her board it. She didn't really need his hand pulling her up but she enjoyed the excuse to make contact.

There were three rows of bench-like seats, three lap belts on each seat to buckle them in.

"Hey Coulson," Leo began, clicking on his belt before turning to their teammate, and Jemma predicted both the approaching question and its answer. "Would you let me... I mean, if Gadget were to help me out with new designs for flying vehicle technology..."

"Don't touch Lola," Coulson replied flatly.

"Right, of course," he agreed quickly and Jemma smirked at him, holding in her giggles while they took off, Gadget leaping off the craft and opening the giant door for them with the flick of switch as she wished them a safe trip.

/-/-/

The plant was beautiful, even cut up. Zambuli had led them to the site of the first attack, where the villagers had retrieved Iroro's body from it and Jemma stood beside Leo, taking it in. The colours alone where spectacular, blues and yellows and reds like a scarlet macaw.

"It really should have a name," she decided. "We can't keep calling it the plant, that could get confusing. Perhaps once it's been properly identified, a name will follow," she suggested, thoughts racing ahead of her words in her excitement. "It's possible that it's already part of an existing genus such as  _Utriculata,_  though it appears to be more similar morphologically to  _Dionea muscipula_."

"Venus fly traps," Leo explained to the others.

She took a step towards it, wanting a closer look, but stopped when she felt his hand on her arm.

Turning her head towards him, she saw his eyes, bright with concern, and smiled reassuringly at him, gently removing his hand.

"It's perfectly safe," she promised. "Villagers and researchers have been poking at it all day and it hasn't even twitched a leaf."

He nodded hesitantly and moved his arm slowly back to his side, however, the moment she took a step towards the plant, someone else yanked her back by the collar of her shirt and gunfire erupted violent spouts of dust and leaves onto the ground where her feet had been a moment before.

Jemma and Leo shrieked while their team moved in front of them, guns ready.

A beeping object rolled onto the remains of the plant and May shouted for them to run, pushing her one way while Coulson pushed Leo the other, behind the trees, before there was a loud, fiery explosion, followed by the sound of more gunfire.

"Get to the hovercraft!" Coulson shouted.

Zambuli and the rest of Jemma's team clambered onto it as another explosion assaulted her eardrums and they sped away, May piloting them through the trees, accelerating once they reached the open grasslands.

"What is going on?" Coulson demanded but Zambuli shook his head, terrified.

"There hasn't been violence like this in Wakanda for decades," he squeaked. "I d-don't understand. W-what..." he began muttering distraughtly to himself in Wakandian.

"Calm down," Coulson said gently, placing his hands out in front of him in an attempt to pacify him. "We'll get back to the village and then we'll work this out."

Zambuli swallowed and nodded.

"Is everyone OK?" Skye asked, the sound of gunfire fading behind them, and there was a chorus of 'yes's and 'I'm fine's.

"Jemma?" Leo asked almost desperately beside her, hands on her shoulders while he looked her up and down anxiously.

He seemed shaken up, frightened. Of course he was, that had been terrifying, she was still shaking, ears ringing from deafening blast.

"I'm alright," she assured him, taking one of his hands and holding it against her heart, attempting to slow its rapid beating, while he placed his other hand on the side of her face. "I wasn't hit." she told him.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers, breathing out a sigh of relief, and she realized how close those bullets had been to ripping through her.

After a minute they moved apart but he kept hold of her hand the whole way to the village and she gripped it back tightly, anchoring herself to him as she wondered what the hell had just happened.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to notapepper for their help sorting out Gravitonium with their vast knowledge of Shield :).
> 
> The Fringe reference is the Selectric 251. It is the typewriter used to send messaged between universes. You need to ask for it specifically at a certain pawn shop and a man brings you to a sketchy back room for you to type in.
> 
> The hovercrafts were inspired by the ones in The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Awesome book :).
> 
> I don't know how much sense it makes that gravitonite would do something similar to Gravitonium (would it have different properties if it was in a mineral instead of in its elemental form?) but I think in sci-fi you can make up some crazy rules right?
> 
> Fun fact, there is only one species of the genus Dionea.
> 
> I don't really know if Japan is top in robotics but they are pretty good according to wiki.


	4. Sometimes, However Much We Don't Want to, We Need to Keep Secrets

That had been far too close, those bullets had impacted the ground mere centimeters from where his beloved had stood. If May hadn't reacted as quickly as she did, if she hadn't yanked Jemma away in time...

Leo couldn't stop the horrifying scene from replaying itself behind his eyes and he kept his grip on Jemma's hand, reassured by the way her fingers wrapped around his, even as they spoke with the village leader.

She was rattled, still frightened from what had happened and so was he. They needed each other to hold on to. He needed to comfort her and, at the moment, he didn't feel like hiding the fact that he loved her, that she was his soulmate. Jemma had almost died and she was scared so they were going to hold hands and if anyone thought that was inappropriate then they would just have to deal with it.

The village leader's name was Mendiano Jabal and he was an older man with grey hair and a serious face (at least it was serious now, though, really, that could have been because there were people with grenades and guns lurking just outside his home). Unlike Zambuli, he didn't seem terrified by the incident but instead was quietly furious and he muttered angrily in Wakandian, allowing Zambuli to translate for him.

"He says he is sorry," Zambuli explained. "That it was likely more foolish thieves out to steal our Vibranium. The mine is only a few dozen Kilometers from here." he added. "It is our most guarded and valuable resource, the source of our country's enormous wealth."

Mr. Jabal was speaking again, still obviously upset, but his expression relaxing slightly.

"He wants to assure you that you will be safe in the village," Zambuli informed them. "We do not like violence here... he wishes no one did anywhere... but we are not unfamiliar with it and are capable of defending ourselves. Wakanda has some of the most advanced security systems in the world because we must defend our precious resources from people greedy enough to try to take them by force."

"We can help you track down whoever did this," Coulson offered and Mr. Jabal smiled gratefully as Zambuli translated for him. "We rely on purchasing Vibranium from you, it would be in all of our interests to keep it safe and besides, this could also be related to our current mission."

"He says thank you," Zambuli let them know as Mr. Jabal replied, "but you may relax for the evening. We have prepared a meal for you and have made ready places where you may sleep."

Leo's stomach grumbled at the thought of food. It had been a while since lunch and now that they were all safe his appetite was back.

Jemma heard him and smiled, not facing him but rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb in one of her many expressions of affection synonymous with 'I love you', or, this time more likely synonymous with 'I love you silly, grumbly Leo.'

It made his chest fill with warm fuzz and he gave her hand a quick squeeze that meant 'I love you too,' feeling incredibly, impossibly lucky.

/-/-/

Jemma sat outside at a long table beneath a canopy, between Leo and Skye, enjoying the wonderful stew.

The fabric of the canopy was beautiful, painted with fantastical flowers and monkeys and blue butterflies. The flowers, which looked a little like daisies, had one petal replaced with the wing of an insect, bird or bat. The one above her appeared to have a dragonfly wing and Zambuli explained to them that the design was symbolic of the mutant nature of the country's flora and fauna.

The stew was delicious but incredibly spicy and she was grateful for the thick, pancake-like bread (Sol) which was served with it.

Leo's face was turning red from his stew and she offered him a chunk of her bread, which he accepted gratefully as she rolled her eyes at him.

"I told you, take small bites," she chided, amused. "You don't need to stuff it all in your mouth at once."

"MmmMmm," he protested.

"Yes, you do," she chuckled.

"I bet you can't eat this whole chili pepper," Skye challenged Trip on her other side, pulling one out of her stew.

"Big talk coming from someone who eats two bites of the bread for every one bite of the stew," he teased and she hit his arm, laughing.

"I would be careful of those chili peppers," Zambuli warned across the table, chuckling at them. Lat-esu, the Wakandian chilli pepper, is very hot, it is put in so that the juices will flow out into the sauce, not to eat whole. Some people do enjoy them though. Young people often dare each other to eat several at once."

"I wouldn't mind trying one," May offered beside him, taking one from her plate and tasting it.

Everyone stared as she chewed, however, if it was bothering her, she didn't show it.

"It's really spicy," she agreed, taking a bite of bread before nonchalantly continuing with her meal.

"You have got to teach me that poker face," Skye remarked, grinning at her.

"Let's see if you can master burpees first," May mused fondly and Skye groaned, though her grin remained and she laughed again.

"Am I late?" A man asked with a hint of a German accent, taking the empty seat beside Coulson and smiling apologetically at Zambuli.

"Not too late to eat," Zambuli joked. "Take some food Mr. Fischer. Everyone, this is Jeremy Fischer," he introduced. "He is curator of Botany at the Naturkunde museum in Bamberg, Germany. We contacted him when the attacks began and he has been working closely with a group of researches to identify the plants."

"How has that been coming along?" Jemma wondered curiously. "Agent Simmons." she greeted him, realizing that she was leaping ahead of good manners in her desire to learn more.

"You can call me Jeremy," he told them and Jemma waited patiently as her team introduced themselves before he answered her question. "We discovered that it secretes a neurotoxin similar to coniine," he informed her.

"Coniine is found in hemlock and yellow pitcher plants," she told the others brightly. "Though the two aren't closely related."

"You must be the biochemist," he guessed, smiling at her and she smiled back, nodding.

"I am," she replied.

"Would you like to come see a seedling of the plant?" he offered cheerfully. "The researchers I work with have been calling it Ikudodo, the death flower, but the seedlings are quite safe."

"That would be wonderful," she accepted happily. "Would you come with me?" she asked Leo, eyes shining with excitement as she turned to him and he grinned warmly at her before kissing the side of her head.

The pair froze once he moved away, realizing that this might not be the moment to be acting like they were together. They weren't technically working, they'd been enjoying a meal with friends, which was why they had let their guard down, but Zambuli and Jeremy were there and they were working with them on this mission. Were they meant to be hiding their relationship from them?

She and Leo were both tense for a moment before Jeremy spoke again.

"You are all welcome to come," he invited, looking around at the table of guests, unaffected by their display of affection, and they relaxed. "However I was under the impression that a few of you had other interests in Wakanda."

"I did have a friend from twitter who convinced his cousin to show me his computer," Skye admitted, grinning. "Apparently it works completely differently from anything I've ever seen. I can't wait to read his code."

"We were going to take some hover-board lessons," Trip told him, exchanging a glance with May who nodded. "Thanks for the offer though."

"I'm going to meet with Mr. Jabal again," Coulson said. "He's going to show me some of the town's older technology. And he has miniature American Shield made from Vibranium," he added, glowing as he showed them the size of it with his thumb and index finger.

"There's a whole market of new, cool gadgets out there and you're excited about retro-Wakandian tech?" Skye teased and he shrugged, smiling.

"I guess that just leaves you and me," Jemma chirped, turning back to Leo.

"Oh, agent Fitz was it?" Jeremy asked, a spoonful of stew halfway to his mouth. "I was asked to tell you, Gadget came looking for you at the research center. She wanted to invite you over because she is adding a new feature to he hover-board. She said she would be honoured if you could lend her some advice."

Leo turned to Jemma, eyes wide, bouncing slightly in his seat at the idea of tinkering with a hover-board and she chuckled affectionately at him.

"Go ahead, I'll meet you later swe- Fitz," she corrected herself, remembering their current company.

"And we'll swap notes," he promised, lifting his hand for a moment before retracting it awkwardly to his side and taking another enormous mouthful of the stew, instantly appearing as if he regretted it.

/-/-/

After the meal they went their separate ways. Leo skipped off behind Zambuli in the direction of Gadget's house and Jemma began to follow behind Jeremy when Coulson called her back.

"I need to borrow agent Simmons for a minute," he apologized. "Can she meet you there?"

"It isn't far," Jeremy conceded agreeably. "Just follow the road a few houses down, it's the white building on the left."

"Thank you!" Jemma called after him as he left before turning her attention to Coulson.

"Simmons, about what happened at the dinner table-" Coulson began.

"I know, I'm sorry," she replied quickly, feeling herself blush at the mention of the misplaced kiss. "We forgot where we were for a moment, we're just used to having our guard down at supper time, that's all. I know we were being inappropriate, it won't happen again." she vowed.

"It isn't just that," Coulson told her, frowning slightly. "You, Skye, Fitz, all of you are my responsibility, you're my team and I need to keep you safe, but that job gets harder when you expose your weaknesses."

"I don't understand," she said, confused. Weaknesses? Did he mean their relationship? "Expose them to who?" She wondered. Who at the table had been a threat?

"The world," he explained. "There's a reason most Shield agents don't have families and it isn't just the long hours. It's because our enemies will take anything they can to use against us, including the people we love. Look at Hydra, and their incentives program," he reminded her grimly.

"You're saying someone might hurt Fitz to get to me," she realized, sick at the thought, feeling as if a python had coiled around her stomach.

"Or you to get to him," Coulson added. "You're both valuable assets, the kind enemies would rather use than kill and when you show them that you and Fitz are together, how much you care about each other, you're showing them a tool they can use to use you."

He was right. What wouldn't she do to protect Leo? What wouldn't he do for her? It scared her sometimes, how irrational she could make him, how much he would sacrifice for her. Being together made them wonderfully, amazingly happy but it also made them vulnerable. Then again, so did loving anyone didn't it? Was she suppose to disown her parents because someone might hurt them? Stop talking to Coulson, May, Trip and Skye after missions because their friendship might cause her to do something stupid for their safety, like jump on someone with a grenade or let the wind pull her out of an airplane?

It was different though, with Leo. He wasn't an ocean away from danger, like her parents were, and if someone held his life in their hands she wasn't sure if there was a limit to what they could make her do. She'd be their puppet and if any enemy who wanted something from her knew that, he'd be in danger.

"I understand sir," she assured him, nodding solemnly. "We'll be more careful. Do you need me to talk to Fitz?"

"It's alright, I'll do it," he told her. "Go have fun with your plants," he smiled, walking away.

"I will, have fun with Mr. Jabal," she wished him.

As she walked the rest of the way towards the small research center, Jemma reflected on her conversation with her leader. She wasn't a good liar by any standard but if she needed to she could cover up her love for Leo, avoid revealing her heart to anyone but a trusted few. It was one of the first times, since joining Shield, that she felt the true weight of its influence on her life and the lives of those close to her and she remembered something Professor Vaughn had once told a class of half-sleeping students. He told them, 'Sometimes we need to hide things, however beautiful or extraordinary, because they need to be protected. Sometimes, however much we don't want to, we need to keep secrets.'

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fringe reference is the daisy with the dragonfly wing. It is one of the glyphs which represents a letter of the alphabet.
> 
> Most of the names and words are based either on people and places from Wakanda in the Marvel database or words in Yoruba. (Though I don't know the language, I am only using google translate).
> 
> The stew and bread is based off foods from Ethiopia.
> 
> A burpee is a jump-squat then a push up combined. I had to do them when I was in karate and I thought they were really hard. haha. Maybe not so hard for a secret agent though ;).


	5. It's Only a Penny

There was a stone wall around Gadget's house. Flowery vines peered over the sides with pinks and blues and yellows and smelling strongly sweet in the hot humidity.

There was button on the side of the gate, and Leo pressed it, guessing it was a doorbell.

A computer voice spoke to him in Wakandian and a few seconds later Gadget appeared, munching on something from the end of a metal spoon.

She greeted him first in Wakandian, then shook her head, chuckling at herself and switched to English.

"Hello, I am so glad you decided to come," she chirped. "Would you like an amailon?" she offered. "They are delicious."

"Is it spicy?" he wondered wearily, his mouth still burning from dinner.

"No," she laughed. "You must have tried Zambuli's stew." she mused. "Amailon is sweet, the name in English would be honey fruit."

"OK then," he agreed cheerfully. Hover-boards and dessert, he was already glad he'd accepted her invitation.

She led him into her house and offered him a seat in the kitchen before she searched through the freezer. A screen on the side displayed the temperature and listed the contents.

"They are very good frozen," she explained. "The meat of the fruit is oily, so it freezes a bit like cream. I think it is similar to ice cream, though I have never had any. Have you had ice cream?"

She was bubbling animatedly as she spoke, reminding him a little of Jemma when she was excited about something.

"Yeah, I eat ice cream all the time," he told her. "They don't have it here?"

"No," she replied, finding an amailon and taking a knife to cut it in two.

It looked a little like a red avocado with orange skin and she scooped out a large pit before plopping it onto a plate, sticking in a spoon and setting it down in front of him on the wooden table. She ate with him, her own plate containing the other half of the one she'd been eating as he came in.

"You are willing to help with my new designs?" she inquired as he took a bite.

It was delicious and wonderfully cooling on his tongue. The fruit tasted a little like a honey-dew melon and was slightly greasy so that his spoon slid through it like ice cream.

"Mmm," he said happily. "Yeah, it should be fun." He kept his sentence short, enjoying his dessert.

She grinned at that."I want the board to take turns better and I think I may be able to shape the stabilizers so that it... I am not sure of the word. It turns better. More quickly."

"You want it to be more manoeuvrable," he offered once he'd swallowed another mouthful.

"I think, for it to weave around trees better," she made a motion with her hand, snaking it around imaginary trees and he nodded to show he understood.

"I can have a look," he agreed brightly. "Do we need to go back to the Il.. Ile-ero?" he stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

"No," she beamed at him. "I have it set up in the garden, away from the flowers," she added quickly. "My grandmother would be very upset if I ruined her plants."

"You live with your grandmother?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, and my grandfather," she replied, her smile fading for a moment. "My parents died of the radiation sickness, Jepolo, when I was very young. I have lived with my grandparents ever since. But they are kind people," she said, smile returning, it seemed to be her default expression. "However they are also very traditional, they want me to stay in Wakanda and live by the old ways like they did when they were my age. They raised me well but I do wish they had allowed me to study somewhere else."

"I'm sorry," Leo told her, unsure what else to say to all of that.

She shook her head. "I have had a good life, and now that I am old enough to make my own choices I can use what I have learned here, along with my new knowledge, to my advantage." She laughed again. "But enough about my life, it cannot be as interesting as yours. How many new devices have you invented? Have you ever needed to create something quickly to get out of a bad situation? Have you ever disabled a bomb? How many countries have you been too? Were you born in the United Kingdom as your accent suggests? Did your parents allow you to travel at a young age? Can you tell me about some of Shield's technology, or is it classified?"

She asked so many questions so quickly he couldn't keep track of them all but he tried to answer them as best he could, leaving out the things he was sure actually were classified.

"Where are your grandparents?" he asked afterwards, wondering why they hadn't come to greet him. Did people do that, greet a visitor of someone living with them? He wasn't sure.

"Today is the day we give offerings to Bast," she told him, waving her hand dismissively. "Another thing I am old enough to make my own decisions about."

Leo remembered his mother bringing him to church when he was child. He had stopped going long ago, not believing himself, and he wondered if what Gadget was talking about was similar to that.

"If you are finished, would you like to come see the hover-board?" she requested hopefully and he couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Sure, do I..?" he held up his plate and spoon.

"We have a machine for that," she explained, taking it from him and loading it into a large metal box in a corner next to the freezer. He guessed it was something close to a dishwasher.

"Come," she said, leading him out the back door and into the garden, bringing the rest of her amailon with her because she had barely touched it.

The yard was amazing, wild looking with flowers of every colour and leaves of every shape. Long grasses and short stubby shrubs lined the stone wall and three enormous trees lent shade to the whole area, their branches leafy and winding out to make a broad canopy.

"It's beautiful," he told her.

"I will tell my grandmother you said so," she replied warmly, stepping over to where she had left her hover-board and a tool kit.

It was already half disassembled, unfamiliar parts laying around it in unorganized piles and Leo approached it eagerly, ready to get to work.

"Where, is my..." Gadget clucked impatiently and muttered under her breath in Wakandian. "Onilak-aaya!" she called. "The little thief," she said to Leo, frowning.

"Huh?" he tilted his head, confused.

Gadget was peering up at the branches of one the trees and calling up scoldingly. Leo followed her gaze and, to his delight, he saw a Zakadel hanging by its tail from one of the branches, waving a wrench almost teasingly at them.

"It's a Zakadel," he chirped happily.

"Her name is Onilak-aaya," Gadget explained, caught between amusement and frustration. "She is a friend to my grandmother but she likes to take things which do not belong to her. Do you know of these monkeys?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I've met a few. They're adorable."

"They are little devils," she corrected but she was giggling and he didn't think she really held a grudge against the animals. On the contrary, she seemed rather fond of Onilak-aaya and smiled as she held up the other half of her amailon, speaking in Wakandian."

Onilak-aaya nimbly swung down from the tree and approached them, walking on three feet because one of her hands held the wrench and Leo noticed something odd about her hind leg.

"Is that a metal leg?" he gasped, pointing at the shining, grey limb as the monkey stopped in front of them and tucked her real hind-leg under her.

"Yes, she lost her real one a long time ago," Gadget explained. "It is probably the reason she was separated from her family. She used to steal food from the market all the time because it was hard for her to gather her own and it made the vendors very upset so I bought her a child's pros... prosthetic." she struggled for a moment with the trickier word.

"You mean they just sell mechanical limbs at the market?" he exclaimed, in awe and liking Gadget more and more. She'd taken money out of her own pocket to help a poor injured Zakadel and she loved taking things apart. He was beginning to think he'd found a kindred spirit.

"Yes," she answered, tilting her head. "You do not have them at home?"

"No," he said, trying to get a better look. "Hi sweetie, can I see that?" he cooed at the Zakadel, not really expecting her to understand. "Can I get closer?" he asked Gadget.

"She is very gentle," Gadget assured him. "But she may run if you scare her." She offered him her amailon half. "You may be able to make a trade," she suggest. "If you do not mind getting my wrench back."

He took the amailon and slowly held it out to Onilak-aaya, stretching out his other hand for the wrench.

"Say, sowo, trade," Gadget instructed quietly.

"Sowo," he requested kindly, pointing to the wrench.

The Zakadel looked to Gadget who spoke a few words of encouragement and then swiftly took the fruit, dropped the wrench and skittered up the tree, swinging up to a high branch, stowing her prize, and then hurrying back down.

She stopped again, this time in front of Gadget and held out her hands, making grabbing motions with her little fingers.

Gadget laughed and handed her the spoon which she took with her, darting back up to the amailon and beginning to eat it with the utensil.

"She prefers not to get her hands sticky," Gadget chuckled and Leo laughed with her as he watched the adorable little creature scooping out pieces of the sweet dessert.

"I can understand that," he joked and they laughed together again before setting to work on her hover-board.

After about half an hour, Onilak-aaya returned, placing the spoon next to Gadget before taking a seat and grooming her fur, casting shy glances at Leo.

"Hi," he waved. "No more fruit for you, sorry."

"She likes to watch," Gadget informed him. "She gets bored, I guess and she does not meet many new people. I think she is curious about you." she added, amused. "You speak differently from what she is used to."

"Do you like my voice?" he asked gently and she jabbered monkey at him.

Onilak-aaya watched them for the rest of the evening, inching closer to him as time progressed until she sat right beside him, staring at him as he worked and chattering away, sometimes grabbing a part to look over.

The hover-board was like nothing he'd ever seen before and it took him a bit longer to puzzle out the pieces until he grew used to the way it was set up. It was a wonderful challenge and Gadget was a good learner as well as a teacher.

He was bit, a few times, by insects and swatted at them irritably while he worked. The Zakadel squeaked, noticing his struggles and grabbed a few of them from the air, squishing them between her hands and shooing them away.

"Thank you," he chuckled and she darted away, back into the tree.

"Did I scare her?" he wondered, but she quickly returned, holding one of the small metal orbs he'd seen at the market with one paw.

"I was searching for that," Gadget sighed, once again finding the monkey both cute and irritating.

Onilak-aaya twisted the orb and there was a beeping noise before a hazy, clear dome formed around them like a force field.

"It keeps the insects away," Gadget explained as he gaped at it.

"Cool," he breathed before turning back to the monkey."Clever girl," Leo praised warmly and she chirped at him again. What a sweetie pie.

Between the new, exciting technology, finding a new friend in Gadget and spending time with this clever, friendly monkey, Leo was having an outstanding evening. He couldn't wait to tell Jemma about all this.

/-/-/

Jemma entered the building through the front doors where she found Jeremy waiting for her.

"Welcome," he greeted cheerfully, waving his hand for her to follow him. "The seedlings are in the greenhouse."

He led her down a narrow hallway, past rooms filled with microscopes and tables with Bunsen burners. There were gorgeous paintings of a heart shaped herb all along the walls, held up by ancient looking people or floating above the head of a panther.

"That is the Dilagbara," Jeremy explained when he caught her staring at them. "A legend of Wakanda, the herb is suppose to give you incredible strength. They say that the queen, Shuri, has eaten it." He shook his head. "The people here believe in it, but I think it is a myth, like Bast. More symbolic than anything."

"It's beautiful," she remarked, admiring the deep magenta and the pleasing curve of its leaves. It could have been a real plant, stranger things were out there.

"There are many talented artists in this country," he told her.

"What are they doing in there?" she wondered, distracted suddenly and pointing into a room where rats were being injected with a clear liquid.

"They are testing the compounds found in Ikudodo, our problem plant," he told her. "Those rats have VPE, Vibranium produced encephalopathy. It is passed down in families here, they call it Jepolo and it is a genetic mutation, one of the many, afflicting the people near the Vibranium mound. This facility was built because of Shuria's proximity to it. A lot of mutant flora, fauna... and people... spring up in this area."

"You think the compounds from Ikudodo may lead to a cure?" Jemma inquired, pausing to watch as the rats were placed back in their cages.

"I hope so," he replied. "It is one of the more insidious of the mutations. It resembles Huntington's diseases in that it only begins later in life, in the early thirties, but the progression is quick and terrifying."

"Let's hope they're on to something," she murmured solemnly, turning away to continue towards the greenhouse.

It was warm and smelled pleasantly of plants and earth. Sunshine poured in from the glass roof onto as sea of green dotted with the colours of flowers.

The seedlings were adorable, tiny and benign looking with small bright red buds and spring-green leaves. One of the larger ones had developed darker leaves and vines and had a miniature trap with tiny, pointed thorns. It was around the size of a desk-lamp and two researches were feeding it mice which it lunged at with awesome speed.

"That one is our oldest," Jeremy told her, noticing her interest. "We have learned much from it. Our intern had the clever idea to put a camera inside to watch how it eats."

"How does that work?" Jemma chirped, peering curiously at it. It was horrible to think about it eating someone, but fascinating to learn about the process.

"It begins by paralyzing its prey," he explained. "The neurotoxin I told you about at supper was found in the thick, sticky substance it secretes as it encases the organism, growing closed around it." He modeled the last part with his hands, crossing his fingers like the thorns of the plant to make a casing.

"Like Dionaea muscipula," Jemma put in excitedly, thinking of the way Venus fly traps trapped flies.

"Exactly," he praised. "But much, much faster."

"So its cells must be able to divide very rapidly," she guessed, marveling at the thought.

"Indeed," he smiled and she smiled back before he continued. "Then it floods the sac with water and drowns the organism before secreting digestive enzymes."

She flinched at the mention of drowning, still sensitive, despite her curiosity, to the idea of water flooding into anything's lungs, of being trapped and surrounded by it.

"I am sorry, have I upset you?" he apologized, looking concerned as her expression changed.

"No, no, I'm fine," she assured him, forcing as smile. "It's just a... a bad memory." A horrific nightmare more like it, but she wasn't going to burden him with her fears. "I don't like the idea of... of drowning."

"Ah," he said, understandingly. "Yes, but I hear it is quite peaceful once-"

"Once the water fills your lungs," she finished, feeling a chill despite the heat as she glanced back at the plant, thinking grimly of the mice inside it.

"Do you like coins agent Simmons?" he asked, snapping her out of her head.

"You mean collecting them?" she answered, grateful for the distraction. "I've never had a collection myself, but I enjoy seeing them. Do you have a collection?"

"Oh yes," he told her cheerfully. "From all around the world. I can show you sometime, if you would like."

"That would be lovely," she accepted brightly. "Are you missing any American coins? I might have some in my wallet I can spare." She searched her bag and pulled it out.

"I couldn't," he objected politely, raising a hand.

"It's fine," she chuckled. "I have lots of quarters and pennies."

"Well... if you wouldn't mind, a penny would be wonderful," he conceded.

"A penny it is," she agreed, fishing around in the coin case for one.

"Is that agent Fitz," Jeremy asked, surprising her, and she looked up to see he was pointing to a photograph in one of the plastic holders across from the coins, now dangling out in front of him.

The photo was one of her favourites, from a trip to Volcanoes National Park. She and Leo stood together, Jemma holding up a rare species of snail, both grinning as a fellow tourist took it. Leo had an arm around her and they'd pressed their cheeks together so that they could fit in the shot beside the tiny gastropod. There was a glow of delight emanating from them that made the photograph feel warm and sunny and she couldn't help feeling a burst of joy at Leo's sweet, smiling face.

"Yes..." she replied cautiously. "It's... we were on vacation and..." but she wasn't sure how to cover up what the photo meant, what its place in her wallet was telling him.

"You are lucky to have found someone to make you so happy," he commented kindly and she nodded, deciding to give up on hiding her relationship from the botanist. After what had happened at supper he probably knew anyway.

"I am," she agreed, glancing contently at the photo again before putting it away. "Here, take a penny for your collection." she offered, holding it out.

"Thank you agent Simmons," he accepted gratefully. "You are very generous. It is good to meet someone so willing to share."

"It's only a penny," she smiled and he smiled back before placing it into his pocket.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to Notapepper for their help with the Zakadels and for creating them and Sweet Pea and Pacino in the first place. :). Their story Oh to be Young is great.
> 
> The fringe reference is the disease VPE. In the show it stands for Viral propagated eclampsia. It occurs in the other universe and basically makes it so that women affected by it die when they give birth. The VPE in this story effects the brain (encephalopathy meaning a dysfunction of the brain)
> 
> The word amailon is a combination of the Japanese word for sweet amai and the English word melon. It isn't a melon though, it just tastes like one. Or it would if it were real...
> 
> Onilak-aaya is a combination of the Yoruba words onilkaye (clever) and aaya (monkey)
> 
> The communication stuff (Gadget struggling with certain words) is based off my experience trying to communicate when I went on an exchange trip in High School (though, for the sake of the story, Gadget has a far larger vocabulary than I did.)
> 
> No FitzSimmons interaction in this chapter, but there will definitely be a lot in the next one 
> 
> Venus fly traps don't drown their prey, though some pitcher plants do, I think.


	6. I'll Always Find You

It was getting dark, the sun had fallen below the horizon and the sky was changing from dark blue to black, a single star already shining. Leo had been looking for Jemma for almost an hour. He'd tried the research centre, Zambuli's house, the market and just about every dusty street of the little town.

In fairness, he had been distracted for a while at the market, looking at all the new gadgets and foods to try. He had no Wakandian money, however, and hadn't been able to purchase anything, much to his disappointment.

Even so, he should have found her by now and he was beginning to worry when he ran into Coulson and Trip who were chattering excitedly to each other about their evenings.

"She makes it look easy," Trip mused.

"She has pretty good balance," Coulson told him and Leo guessed they were talking about May.

"So do I," Trip chuckled. "And I still fell off the board about half a dozen times before I was able to make a turn. "

"Have you seen Simmons?" Leo asked, intercepting them, frowning in concern. "She was suppose to meet me and she isn't at the research center, or the market or..."

"She went back to the guest house with May and Skye," Trip informed him, raising his eyebrows. "She didn't tell you?"

"No..." he replied, confused and a little hurt. Why had she blown him off like that? Was she angry with him for something, offended he hadn't gone to the research centre with her? She'd seemed fine at supper. "She didn't tell me anything about that," he muttered.

"I'm sure she meant to," Trip consoled him. "It isn't like Simmons to leave someone hanging like that. You think maybe you just misunderstood her?"

"I dunno," he grumbled, becoming upset.

It  _was_  out of character for her to do something like this. She must be really mad at him. What had he done? If she'd wanted him to come with her she should have just said so. Or she could have come with him.

"I think I know what's going," Coulson offered, looking serious. He turned to Trip. "Could I speak with Fitz privately for a moment?" He requested.

"Is everything OK?" Trip wondered, worried.

"It's fine," Coulson assured him. "I'm just a little behind on one-on-one talks," he smiled and Trip nodded.

"OK, meet you two back at our guest house, remember you're sharing the one with me and Coulson," he reminded Leo who nodded to show he understood but didn't reply. "See you later," he waved.

"Bye," Coulson waved back before turning to Leo. "We need to talk," he sighed.

/-/-/

Jemma was reading her book, Letters of Transit, by the yellow light of desk-lamp in the guest house they were staying in. Skye, May and herself were sharing a large, wooden room, smelling wonderfully of sawdust, with four single beds covered with brightly coloured blankets. Each bed had a desk beside it which held a lamp and a clock and there was a small bathroom off to the side.

"Hey, guys, check this out," Skye called excitedly from her bed a few feet away. She focused on her lamp, scrunching her face in concentration and the bulb went out with a click.

"Skye, that's incredible," Jemma exclaimed. "When did this start?"

"Just now," she answered, grinning at her. "I was playing with the clock before, pretty cool huh?"

"Can you turn it back on?" May wondered, raising her eyebrows and looking impressed.

"Umm... nope..." Skye realized, flicking the switch. "Ooops... I guess I broke it..." she fell silent, looking guilty.

"I think she meant using your powers," Jemma told her, nervous about the lamp and about Skye getting in trouble. "Maybe Fitz can fix it," she suggested hopefully.

"Maybe..." Skye agreed. "Wow, good thing I didn't use it on T'Challa's computer, he would have flipped, and I wouldn't have been able to replace it..."

"I'm sure the bulb can be replaced," May assured them, unconcerned. "We'll buy a new one tomorrow."

"By we, you mean me right?" Skye asked, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Exactly," she mused, returning to her book, Northwest Passage and Skye chuckled, evidently feeling better.

"Hey, Simmons, can I see your watch?" she requested.

"Oh, well... I really like this watch," Jemma replied awkwardly.

"Not for that!" Skye exclaimed, rolling her eyes at her. "Do you seriously think I'd just break all your stuff?" She challenged, amused. "I want to know the time."

"Don't you have a clock?" Jemma wondered, puzzled.

"Umm... I kinda, might have broken that too..." Skye admitted sheepishly.

"We'll add it to the shopping list," May sighed. "Maybe try to avoid using that one on other people's things," she suggested.

"Yeah..." Skye agreed. "Good idea."

"It's not your fault," Jemma assured her kindly. "You didn't know, this is all new to you. Just be more careful in the future."

"I will," Skye promised and they smiled at each other before Jemma tossed her the watch and wondered what other surprises her friend had in store for them.

/-/-/

The small guest house May, Skye and Jemma were staying in was elevated off the ground, as Leo's had been, and the window was so high up that he had to bounce to see into it.

A light was on and someone must have seen him hopping around because Skye appeared, opening the window and poking her head out.

"Are you creeping on us you weirdo?" she mused. "You know we could be changing right? I don't know about Simmons but I'm pretty sure both me and May would rather you not see that," she scolded and he was glad for the darkness which hid the flush that rose to his cheeks as she spoke.

"I- er... I didn't mean...is Jemma..?" he fumbled.

"Fitz what are you doing here?" Jemma hissed disapprovingly, appearing beside Skye.

"I came to see you," he huffed, offended by her tone. "We were suppose to meet up after you visited the research centre remember?"

She pressed her lips together, looking unhappy. "Didn't Coulson talk to you?" she wondered quietly then she shook her head, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "What do you think you're doing hopping around out there?" she demanded as Skye left to give them some privacy, likely sensing the tension between them. "There could be snakes under the house, this area is known for burrowing mud mumbas, that's why we're on stilts, so they don't slither in."

"What?!" he exclaimed, leaping away from the house.

"Their venom is incredibly potent," she fretted, not helping with his sudden, jittery panic. "It's a neurotoxin with similar properties to tetanus toxin," she went on and he stared up at her with wide eyes. "Just hurry up and get in here," she urged worriedly, motioning with her arm.

"But, it's too high," he objected, keeping his distance from the house and the sketchy darkness below it, which he was now certain was hiding at least two of these burrowing mud mumbas, ready to bite into him and inject him with their venom.

"Fitz we have a door," she reminded him impatiently, rolling her eyes.

"Oh... right," he replied, a little embarrassed.

Carefully, not wanting to step on a snake, he tiptoed around the house to the front entrance where Jemma was waiting for him feeling himself relax as he safely reached the top of the stairs.

'Not today, you sneaky snakes,' he cheered in his head.

The moment Jemma closed the door behind him, she pulled him into a tight embrace, which was a little confusing but certainly welcome because she smelled lovely and felt like home, and he returned it warmly before she pulled back, arms around his neck, and gave him a small smile.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I... I was going to meet you but... you spoke with Coulson?" she asked again.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "It's stupid-"

"It's not," she insisted pulling away from him and sighing sadly.

"It's not stupid," May agreed from where she sat on her bed, putting down her book and giving them her attention. "It may seem like it now but it won't when someone has a gun to Simmons' head and is asking you to do something horrible," she told Leo seriously. "If that time comes you'll wish you'd kept better secrets."

A cold lump formed in his throat as he pictured the scene she'd described and he wondered if she was speaking from some sort of experience. He knew May had seen a lot of awful things in her work as a Shield agent. He didn't ask though, didn't want his friend to have to talk about something like that... if it had happened.

He turned to Jemma, whose eyes were bright and pleading with him to understand.

"I don't want you to get hurt," she said softly. "And I don't want either of us to be put in that position."

Leo felt a prickle of guilt. Poor Jemma, of course this was upsetting her too, he should have known that.

He placed his palm on her face and she leaned into it, eyes closed. "OK," he conceded, stroking her soft, squishy cheek with his thumb and she smiled.

"Thank you," she murmured, opening her eyes as he pulled his hand back.

"Did you want go somewhere where we can talk?" he asked, peering around her to look at Skye and May.

"I think that's a good idea," she agreed, also turning to their friends. "Would you mind if we went for a walk?" she inquired.

"Don't stay out too late," May warned. "You need to get some sleep for tomorrow."

"I'll be back soon," Jemma vowed and together they waved goodbye and exited the guest house, careful of where they stepped until they reached the street.

/-/-/

"What are doing?" Jemma asked, following Leo up the stairs of an old watch tower. "Why are we going up here?"

"Gadget told me about it," he let her know. "I thought it'd be a good place to talk."

It certainly was beautiful Jemma noticed as they reached the top platform. They were high enough to see the whole village, a few straggling lights shining from select houses but otherwise dark so that the stars could be seen clearly and magnificently, bright white dots freckling the black sky.

Leo sat down, leaning against one of the posts and she sat next to him. He tried to smile at her, but she could tell he was still saddened by their conversation. They'd spent the walk discussing their options, who to tell about their relationship, who already knew. She'd informed him that Jeremy knew they were together and he'd admitted to talking to Gadget about them and they'd both agreed that that was the last time they'd let someone they'd only just met see what they meant to each other.

"So does this mean we're never going to get married?" he asked unhappily. "I mean..." he blushed suddenly, realizing what he'd said. "I'm not making any assumptions... just... hypothetically... if we were at a point where we'd want to we... wouldn't..." he trailed off, both awkward and gloomy.

"Why wouldn't we?" she questioned, shuffling over to lay her head on his chest.

She hadn't wanted to make him upset, but she needed him to understand the position they were in, how the cord that tied their hearts together could be used to control them, pull them places they didn't want to go.

She traced slow patterns on his stomach with her finger, waiting for him to reply, however instead he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair, briefly silent.

She didn't mind the pause, it gave her a moment to focus on the soft warmth of his body, the soothing beating of his heart. His embrace was like a refuge, a place where she knew she was safe and loved and a tangible reminder that she was never truly alone. He was always there with her, in her head and in her heart even when she couldn't feel him or see him or hear him.

"Isn't the whole point of a wedding, to announce your love to the world?" he pointed out, and she sighed because he was, at least partially, right.

"There's more to it than that, it's also a promise," she reminded him. "And it's not something we need to worry about right now anyway right? We have plenty of time to get there, all the time in the world to figure out our life together."

"Yeah," he agreed quietly, kissing her again and holding her closer to him.

She knew what he was thinking, why he'd gripped onto her more tightly, he'd had the same thought she'd had.

'Unless we don't, unless one of us dies.'

Which would be a ridiculous, paranoid thought for most other couples but was disturbingly relevant for them. This whole discussion was disturbingly, specifically relevant to them.

"I hate hiding how I feel about you," he muttered, almost bitterly. "I hate having to pretend I'm not in love with you."

"I know," she said quietly. "Me too, but... he's right. I would do anything for you," she admitted. "I would..." but her throat closed and she couldn't continue.

"I might do something unspeakable," he continued for her. "If someone threatened to hurt you I'd be-"

"I'd be their puppet," they finished together.

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath while he rubbed her arm soothingly in slow circles near her shoulder. Silence stretched out for one minute, then another and he moved on from her shoulder to her hair, flattening it beneath his palm, sending calming, tingling waves through her body.

"I love you Jemma," he murmured at last. "I love you and, somehow, you love me too. I don't need anything else, I don't need anyone else to know but you. If we can be together, that's enough for me. I'll keep it a secret."

It made her sad, that he had to promise her that, that they couldn't tell anyone but she was grateful for the protection it gave them and she reached up to kiss his face before moving back to look into his eyes.

"It's enough for me too," she told him and he smiled even though he still looked miserable. "And it's not a secret from everyone," she added, trying to chase gloom away. "We can tell the people who matter, the people we trust. And each other." She kissed his nose before resting her forehead against his. "I love you Leo, you're my sweetheart."

Her words cheered him up significantly and he beamed at her, eyes sparkling with joy, and kissed her lightly before nuzzling her nose and she chuckled delightedly at his affection.

"We can do this," he decided, his voice low because their faces were so close together, but filled with determination.

"We can," she resolved. "If we have each other, we can do anything."

"Including becoming secret lovers," he kidded. "Or... sometimes secret lovers."

"It's almost romantic," she laughed.

"We could be a bad romance novel," he laughed with her.

"Or an epic one," she imagined. "One with sparks and fireworks going off all the time. And it would take place somewhere poetic, like the countryside. With green hills and stone fences. A quiet place, until our burning romance came tornadoing into town. Now it's all anyone can talk about, but we can't talk about it because... because we're spies and we don't want it to get back to our enemies that we're hopelessly in love. But we meet every night atop an old tower to be together."

"So we're a hopeless fire tornado?" he teased, his body shaking with laughter, before he kissed her forehead.

"Maybe in the Cotswolds," she went on cheerfully, snuggling up to him again so that her head was once more over his heart and he let out a contented sigh as she resumed writing with her fingers on his stomach. "Why are we up in this tower?" she asked.

"Ah, well that's a story of it's own," he said softly. "Gadget told me there's a legend around this tower. An old superstition," he added quickly, sounding suddenly nervous.

"Can you tell me the story?" she requested, drawing out sugars on his body, hexagons and pentagons with 'O's and 'H's attached to them.

"Mmmm," he answered happily and she smiled as she realized she was distracting him.

"Are you enjoying that?" she mused, pausing to touch the side of his mouth and feel his smile.

"Yeah," he told her. "Why'd you stop?"

"Weren't you going to tell me a story?" she giggled.

"Oh, right...," he remembered. "This tower isn't a watch tower, It's called Ife... Ife-oran... orun?" he fumbled. "It means sky love, or love in the sky. According to the story, if two people who love each other sit at the top and say a spell... I know it sounds crazy... and I'm not saying I believe in it but... well I thought it would be nice up here anyway."

"What's the spell?" she wondered, giggling again. "What happens if you say it?"

"You'll always find each other," he answered softly. "Whatever happens, however far apart or hidden you are, as long as the love is still there, you'll find your way back to each other."

"That's sweet," she whispered, closing her eyes as he began drawing hearts and letters on her arm. It did feel really nice, no wonder he'd zoned out. "So what's the spell?" she inquired, after a minute of blissful alphabet which left her arm burning pleasantly and her heartbeats slow and steady.

"Ribagbogbo," he said, easily, as if he'd practised. "You need to say it together."

"Do you want to?" she asked, sitting up and smiling at him. "I mean I know we don't believe in magic but... well, there are a lot of things out there and-"

"And it couldn't hurt," he continued, his gaze filled with warmth.

"What with us running in and out of trouble all the time," she added.

"We need all the help we can get," he decided.

"So it's ribagbogbo?" she clarified.

"Yeah," he answered and she took both his hands in her own.

"On three," she told him. "One, two, three,.."

"Ribagbobgo," they chanted together and to her surprise she only felt a little ridiculous.

"I'll always find you," he promised, as she leaned back against him and he rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"I'll always find you," she repeated.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As far as I know burrowing mud mumbas aren't real (though black mumbas and green mumbas are). I made them up as an animal unique to Wakanda but there are a lot of species of snake so there might actually be one with the same name out there already.
> 
> The Fringe reference is the books Northwest Passage which is the title of a second season episode and Letters of Transit which is the title of a fourth season episode (which was the equivalent of Dollhouse's Epitaph One for Fringe, showing a glimpse into the future of the show) but also the title of an actual book which is a compilation of Essays about moving from one place to another, losing your language and fitting in new places. (I haven't read it, just Googled it haha)


	7. You Need to Come With Me

The next morning Jemma woke early, regretting a little her promise to Jeremy that she would come see his collection of rare coins.

There was a team meeting at eight that she needed to be back for, so they had agreed to meet at seven. Which would be fine, except that she was already a little muddled by the time change and she'd stayed out with Leo a little later than she probably should have.

She smiled to herself at the memory as she pulled a light shirt over her head, careful not to wake Skye or May who hadn't made anyone any promises to get up early, because it had been worth staying up late, even worth being tired in the morning.

The sky was grey and ominous but, despite the gathering storm clouds, her thoughts were on stars and giggles and kisses as Jemma skipped cheerfully down the road to the research centre. This would be fun, coins were neat, she'd decided merrily, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. Along with the countless gadgets Leo had insisted she pack, it contained a special edition quarter and a book about tropical plants she thought Jeremy would be interested in.

Jeremy intercepted her before she reached the building. Her bubbly mood popped instantly as she saw the expression on his face and realized something was horribly wrong.

"Jeremy? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Wha-... no... yes..." his eyes were wide and he was shaking his head slowly from side to side. "Agent Simmons, thank God, you need to come with me!" he exclaimed.

"Where? What's happening?" She demanded, dread rising up her throat.

Jeremy didn't reply. Instead he grabbed her arm, soaking her sleeve with blood from his fingers as he tried hurry her along.

"Are you hurt?" she gasped, looking the man up and down for signs of injury.

"Not me..." he squeaked, pulling back his hand and staring at it in shock. "There was an accident... with a hover-board... agent Fitz..."

"What's happened to Fitz?" she squeaked, afraid of the answer, her lungs squeezing painfully so that it was suddenly difficult to breath. Was it Leo's blood on his hands? From the look on Jeremy's face, she could tell this was serious.

"You need to come with me," he repeated. "I need help lifting the tree off of him, I think it's obstructing his breathing... it's crushing him. We need to hurry."he urged.

Cold fear coursed through her and she did as she was told, without really thinking about it, without stopping to question why Leo would be out on a hover-board so early. Somewhere underneath her blinding panic she reasoned that he was probably with Gadget, working on their new design, the one he'd told her about last night.

They reached the edge of the village and she crossed it, without hesitation, running as fast as she could behind Jeremy. Her bag slid off her shoulder and tumbled behind her but she didn't have time to stop for it and they kept running until they were surrounded by trees and thick bushes.

Something felt wrong, this didn't make sense, they were too far out. Why would Leo come all the way out here?

"There," Jeremy panted, pointing to a fallen tree.

It was enormous, how in the world had Leo managed to knock it on top of himself? Where was Gadget? Where was the hover-board?

Someone was struggling beneath the branches. Leo... she couldn't see him but she saw the stream of blood trickling away from the leaves. He was here and he was hurt. The rest of the world faded to black, nothing else mattered, so she stopped asking herself stupid questions and darted towards him.

Before she could reach him though, vines sprung up like pouncing snakes and twisted around her ankles, and then around her arms and she screamed as she realized with a sharp jolt of fear that she'd stepped into grasp of an Ikudodo.

"Help!" she begged, yanking her arms away, trying in vain to snap the thick green vines, flailing around desperately and being pulled in towards the plant's open mouth anyway. "Help!" she shrieked but Jeremy didn't come to her aid.

Instead he walked breezily over to the tree which had collapsed onto Leo and took out a gun, pointing it down at his unseen form.

"No," she choked.

Jeremy was going to kill him... Jemma couldn't let that happen, it wasn't an option, and she fought fiercely, with renewed vigor, against the plant's hold on her, however it still dragged her backwards, away from them and towards her own death.

"No!" she screamed but her cry was drowned out by the sound of a gunshot which sent her into a hysterical panicked struggle, fueled by rage and grief.

Jeremy dragged the body out from under the tree and she saw that it was an animal, an antelope, gruesomely cut open before he'd ended its misery with a shot to the head.

It hit her suddenly that Leo wasn't there, Jeremy had lied to her, he was probably safe, still sleeping under the protection of their teammates.

Relief mingled with her fear and confusion. Leo was OK, she could breathe again, but she was going to die.

The head of the plant lunged forward and engulfed her, trying to shut on her as she fought furiously to drag herself out of it.

"No! No, no, no!" she cried. "Help! Please help me!" she pleaded in vain, sobbing and consumed by horrible, sickening terror as it closed over her.

/-/-/

Leo yawned as he followed his friends out into the morning sunlight. He'd probably stayed up later than he should have but it had been well worth it. A warm little bubble floated around inside him at the memory and he smiled.

"Did you talk to Simmons last night?" Coulson asked and Trip was strategically averting his attention from the conversation, though Leo wouldn't have minded so much if he'd been a little nosy. This wasn't a secret, not from friends.

"Yeah," he told Coulson. "We talked about it, we'll be more careful from now on," he vowed solemnly.

"Good," Coulson nodded seriously before smiling at him. "Ready for breakfast? Zambuli said he was making pear soup and fresh two-bellied river fish," He licked his lips. "I still need to ask for the recipe for that stew last night."

Leo's stomach grumbled at the thought (though he did wonder what exactly a two bellied-river-fish was) and Trip stopped pretending to be distracted by the design on the side of their house to agree that he was looking forward to breakfast.

They'd just met up with May and Skye when a man, Leo recognized Jeremy, came running towards them in a panic.

"Something horrible had happened!" he shouted shaking a filthy, slimy bag he held in his hands.

It was Jemma's bag, Leo realized. He recognized the polka dot pattern, three green dots and a red one, and the stitching over one of the pockets even under the thick, clear, goopy slime that covered it. Slime, like the slime from one of those plants.

The world spun around him, shifted beneath his feet so that he feared he'd fall over.

"Where is she?" he demanded quietly, frightened of the answer but needing to know so he could do something, anything, to help her.

"That's Simmons' bag," Skye gasped beside him but Leo kept his gaze on Jeremy, pleading for an explanation.

"She went out... t-there... she s-saw something..." he stammered. "I did not hear what... I tried to follow her but she was too quick and then... I found this," he held the bag up for them to see, "covered in the paralytic substance from Ikudodo. I think she has been-"

"No!" Leo cut him off angrily because he didn't want to hear it. Because he couldn't still be standing here if it were true. His heart couldn't keep beating in a world without her, it'd be too broken. "This is crazy, she wouldn't do that," he insisted, shaking his head. "That's ridiculous, why would she go off on her own? She wouldn't... This isn't right."

"Why are you so sure she would not?" Jeremy disagreed, tilting his head as if Leo were the one talking nonsense.

"Because she's not stupid, you dirt brain," he shot back furiously. Dirt brain? really? At least the man looked offended, it had certainly been meant offensively. "She wouldn't just go out into the bush by herself, this doesn't make any sense. What you're saying isn't making any sense." he shouted the last part.

"I'm with Fitz," Skye agreed, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Simmons is way too responsible to just skip out in search of a flesh eating plant when there are people throwing grenades around like hot potatoes. She's curious, but she also likes not being plant food. Something is wrong here. We need to go look for her," she insisted firmly, face set in determination.

"I agree," Coulson said and the others nodded.

Leo had been about to pull away, to shake off Skye's hand but now he was glad for his friend's comfort. Skye was on his side, and maybe holding him back from shoving Jeremy which probably wasn't fair to the man who was only the messenger of bad news, not the cause of it, and definitely wouldn't help Jemma. He realized his hands were balled up into fists and he relaxed them, taking a deep breath, trying to stop rumbling, raging thunder in his chest that roared in between the terrified, desperate downpour.

Jemma wasn't stupid, the opposite she was clever, resourceful and creative. They would find her or she'd make her way back with a perfectly reasonable explanation for where she'd been, probably bubbling on cheerily about some fascinating new creature she'd encountered.

What she wasn't, absolutely wasn't, was being digested by a giant plant.

/-/-/

Jemma was surrounded by the Ikudodo's flesh, trapped in darkness and shaking in terror. She wasn't giving up though, she had a way to escape and she fished it out of her pocket, glad for once that Leo was paranoid.

'Is it really paranoia if you're right?' she wondered as her trembling hands fumbled with the on switch and the beam of the laser sawed through the thick flesh of the plant.

She tumbled out of the hole she'd cut but as she did so the plant released its sticky juices onto her, covering her in slime which made her skin tingle frighteningly. She stubbornly fought the growing numbness in her limbs, crawling as far away as she could from the dangerous vines until she couldn't move anymore and she collapsed, paralyzed, what she could only hope was as safe distance away.

Even out of the Ikudodo's reach though, she didn't feel safe. Jeremy was still out there, armed and ready to kill. Her team didn't know, had no clue he was a threat and they were in danger. They were in danger and she couldn't warn them because she couldn't make her arms and legs work.

_She_  was in danger because the wilderness was filled with people who shot at Shield agents and animals which could eat her and the poison was soaking through her shirt and onto the skin of her body, threatening to paralyze the muscles she used to breathe.

She tried to scream but she couldn't and hot tears streamed down her face, dripped onto the leaf-covered ground. She was so scared. She didn't want to die out here, alone and not knowing whether or not her friends were going to be killed. She wanted Leo, wanted him here holding her and telling her it was OK, that she didn't need to be afraid and he could fix this. At the very least she wanted the chance to say goodbye.

'Please,' she begged, irrationally calling out to him when there was no hope of him hearing. He was too far away and she couldn't even speak the words but she thought them as loudly as she could even if it didn't make any sense. 'Please find me, I need you.'

The skin of her chest and stomach was beginning to tingle and a sickening, terrifying wave of despair turned everything to haze as she realized she was going to die and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

'No,' she thought desperately. 'I'm not ready, I don't want to go.'

Maybe someone, or something heard her, or maybe it was only a fluke, but the moment the thought was out there was a crack of thunder and, miraculously, rain fell in sheets from the troubled sky, soaking her and washing off the poison slime.

She was freezing now, and she still couldn't move but she could breath and she was going to keep breathing, stay awake until someone found her, until she was safe in Leo's arms again.

/-/-/

It was pouring and Leo was completely drenched but he barely felt it, barely felt anything except the aching, desperate need to find Jemma.

"Jemma!" he screamed over a crash of thunder.

"Simmons!" Skye yelled a few meters away and he could tell by the catch in her voice that she was struggling not to cry.

Leo was beyond struggling against his storming emotions and if not for the rain his face would have been covered in his warm, salty tears. He needed Jemma back, needed her in his arms again or he was going to break and no one was ever going to be able to fix him.

May, Coulson and Trip surrounded them, armed and on the look out for signs of both Jemma and the people who had shot at them earlier. A few of the villagers had volunteered to help, despite the risk and, somewhere underneath his pain, he was grateful for them.

"Jemma!" he called again, not knowing if she was able to answer him but sure she was alive and that she needed him.

She was out there, somewhere, and she needed him. He knew it without knowing how he knew it, without reason.

He didn't believe in magic, neither of them did, but he did believe in the strength of his love for her and hers for him, believed in the power of the connection between them. So when something inside him said to turn left he did, motioning for Skye to follow, to run ahead because she was faster than him, because if Jemma was in danger she could get to her quicker.

/-/-/

Jemma wished she could shiver, wished she could curl into a ball to warm herself up but she knew from her time at the research center that the paralysis lasted several hours, it could be up to six before she could move again. She was dizzy and her vision kept blurring around the edges but she forced herself to stay awake, was too frightened she'd never wake up to allow the world to fall away.

People were calling to her, she heard her name and fought to move her tongue, to get her vocal cords to work so she could call back to them but it was futile.

"Jemma!" It was Leo and another round of tears poured down her face at how unfair this was. He was so close, so close but there was nothing she could do except wait and hope they found her in the downpour, in the darkness created by thick grey clouds.

'Leo! I'm here, I'm over here,' she shouted the words in her head, still not making sense, still being ridiculous because it wasn't possible he could hear her.

Someone was coming, running towards her and, amazingly, they spotted her.

"Simmons!" Skye exclaimed, kneeling down beside her and feeling her neck for a pulse. "She's over here. She's alive," she cried and Jemma saw her friend taking off her jacket, felt the lingering warmth against her freezing cold skin before Skye took her hand.

"Jemma?" It was Leo, crashing down on her other side, his voice high and scared, but sounding like home and refuge all the same. "I think she's been paralyzed," he told Skye, rubbing Jemma's shoulders, trying to warm her up. "We found you sweetheart, you're safe now," he soothed, running his fingers gently across her cheek before he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and she knew it was going to be OK. If he was with her, everything was going to be OK.

Someone, May, she recognized her voice, helped him carry her onto a hover craft and he held her against him the whole way back, rubbing her arm and covering her in gentle kisses, the heat from his body thawing hers and his soft, tender words in her ears, filling her up with his love for her, sunshine in the cold darkness.

Skye kept hold of her hand, moving her thumb comfortingly back and forth across the top of it, and she felt the other's presence around her, guarding her as Leo was and she was finally able to let go of the sickening terror that had consumed her.

Calming now, she felt her exhaustion like a sudden blast of wind, blowing away her strength. She could sleep, Leo had her, was protecting her, and, safely in his arms, she could at last allow herself to stop her desperate struggle to remain awake.

She heard him murmur gently that he loved her, his words turning her swirling, fearful thoughts to still water, like a soothing lullaby, before she fell unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fringe reference is the dots, green, green, green, red. It is a pattern that occurs over and over in the show and is a key plot point in the first season episode The Equation.
> 
> The whole "I don't want to go," was sort of a reference to Doctor Who and I am pretty sure the "Is it paranoia if you're right?" question is from something esle too.


	8. She Did Start to Freak Out the Second I Mentioned him

"Do you think she's comfortable?" Leo fussed, adjusting the blanket over Jemma. "It's gotten pretty warm again... but her hand is still so cold. Is it supposed to be so cold?"

She was awake. He knew because every few minutes she tried to squeeze his hand, a weak, light pressure which he took to be her trying to tell them she was alright.

That and the doctors had said so. They knew she was conscious and aware of her surroundings, she just couldn't move. Most of her skeletal muscles were paralyzed, though thankfully her breathing muscles hadn't been affected. He'd been told the rain must have saved her, washed off the toxic slime before that happened, and he'd never been so grateful for a downpour.

"I'm sure she's fine," Coulson consoled him, touching Leo's shoulder briefly before returning his hand to his side.

"Yeah, he's right sweetheart, you're fine," he soothed, gently running his hand up her forehead and into her hair. They were surrounded only by their team, their family and he felt safe revealing his affection for her. "You'll be all better soon, don't you worry," he assured her, repeating the motion slowly, tenderly and hoping it was a comfort to her.

Her eyes moved beneath her eyelids but they remained closed.

"Take it easy Jemma," Skye advised softly on her opposite side, holding her other hand. "Remember what you kept telling me after I was shot? You need to let your body recover. Everything is under control. Jeremy is going to show us where he found another one of those plants, he thinks he has an idea of how we can keep people safe from them without destroying them. We can handle it from here, you just relax."

Her grip tightened on Leo's hand and her heartbeat quickened on the monitor.

"We'll be careful," he promised, squeezing it back. "And we all have lasers in our pockets, just in case."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Trip added gently, hand on her foot. "We've got them covered, I promise no one is getting shot. Right May?"

"Not under our watch," she agreed seriously beside him.

It wasn't helping, the monitor beeped rapidly and she was fighting to curl her fingers around Leo's despite her frailty

"Shhh," he tried to calm her, stroking her hair and squeezing her hand lightly. "It's OK," he insisted. "Don't be afraid..." her breathing was fast and shallow, she was scared, he could tell and he didn't know why. "Jemma... It's OK, I'm here. It's Leo, there's nothing to be afraid off." she let out a tiny squeak and his eyes filled with tears to see her so frightened and helpless. "You're safe," he whispered, holding her hand against his chest. "Sweetheart please, calm down, you're safe."

"Fitz'll stay here," Skye said, giving her arm a squeeze with her free hand. "He can do that right?" She asked Coulson who nodded at her.

"I want someone here when you wake up anyway," he answered quietly, patting her knee. "I want to know what happened to you."

"See, Big C says it's cool," Skye laughed, trying to ease the tension.

"I'll stay darling," Leo vowed, kissing her fingers. "The others will be fine on their own."

It still wasn't working, she was hyperventilating now, her heart rate dangerously high and Trip called in a nurse who herded them away so she could give Jemma sedative. The moment Leo and Skye's hands left hers she became even worse.

Poor Jemma was making strangled, feeble little squeaks of terror and it was all he could do not to push past the nurse and wrap her up in his arms. Tears streaked down his face. Whatever had happened to her must have been absolutely horrible and he cursed himself for not getting to her sooner, even if it made no sense for him to have been able too.

The nurse finally moved away and let him lift her up, cradling her against his chest and rocking her back and forth gently as he whispered into her hair.

"Everything is going to be OK," he promised her. "I'm so sorry Jemma, I'll keep you safe now, I swear I won't leave you until you're better. It's going to be OK."

She twitched and tried to squeak again but it came out as a whistling sigh as the sedatives took effect and she fell unconscious.

/-/-/

When Jemma woke up again she still couldn't move, still couldn't speak, but she tried to stay calm because she didn't want them to knock her out again.

Leo was holding her against him, her body resting on his warm chest so that she felt his beating heart and his steady breaths. It helped, with the calm, to concentrate on the rise and fall of his ribcage, and she was glad he was staying with her, but she needed  _all_  of them to stay.

That bastard Jeremy was going to hurt her team, she was sure of it, and she hated that she couldn't warn them. If he harmed a single hair on any of their heads she'd rip him apart, never mind that she'd failed her combat assessment by twenty points. She'd slip some poison in his food and see how he felt being helpless and paralyzed while she threw his stupid coins in an incinerator... if he even had stupid coins.

The monitor beeped again.

'Calm down,' she warned herself.

"It's OK Jemma," Leo soothed, still petting her hair.

'That's nice sweetheart but it's really not,' she thought grimly.

"Something's wrong," he told the others. "I don't think you guys should go out there."

'Yes, good, good Leo, you tell them,' she cheered.

"Fitz stop, there is nothing wrong with Jeremy," Coulson objected.

Another rapid set of beeps.

"See, see, look, she's scared of him," Leo insisted and she wanted to kiss him.

"Are you sure you're not just holding a grudge?" Trip asked skeptically.

'Huh?'

"Skye did have to hold you back from punching him," Coulson put in. "You were pretty mad just because he said she went out on her own."

'Oh Leo,' she thought disapprovingly, though she almost wished he had punched him. Except that Leo couldn't have know he was an evil, awful monster and there would have been no good reason for him to hit the man.

"I wasn't going to hit him," he muttered.

'Of course he wasn't,' she thought.

"You called him a dirt-brain," May said flatly.

Of course he had. In all fairness Jeremy  _was_ a dirt-brain, no that was an insult to dirt. He was filth and someone must have peed in his gene-pool to make him as disgusting as he was. But why did Leo have to be so rash? Now no one was going to believe the only person who almost understood what she was trying to tell them. Just because he couldn't control his emotions...

The same way she couldn't. It wasn't fair at all for her to criticise him, she realized. He'd been scared for her, not knowing where she was, if she was even alive.

Her own irrational behaviour had gotten them all into this mess in the first place. It was her fault Jeremy had seen her weak spot, her fault this was happening.

"But she's scared," he pressed on stubbornly. "You mention going out there with him and she panics."

"She did start to freak out the second I mentioned him," Skye admitted.

"And she was also almost eaten by a plant," Coulson argued. "I think that warrants a freak out don't you?"

'No, listen to Skye,' Jemma pleaded. 'Listen to Leo, you call us FitzSimmons and you don't think he knows what I'm thinking?' she accused.

"We need to go," May announced. "We're meeting him in ten."

'NO!'

She couldn't keep herself calm any longer, she made weak, distressed noises and gripped Leo's hand as hard as she could.

It was upsetting him, she could tell by the way he pulled her closer and murmured into her hair, trying to comfort her. She didn't want to be comforted though, she wanted him to keep telling them something was wrong.

"It's OK," he whispered.

'NO IT IS NOT!' she raged, tears falling down her face and into his shirt. 'Please, please stop them,' she begged wordlessly.

The nurse returned and, despite Leo's protests, took her away from him to give her another sedative.

The last thing she heard was him warning the others not to go.

/-/-/

Jemma was scared of Jeremy, Leo was sure of it. He didn't know why, no one believed him and he couldn't prove it, but she was scared of him.

"Skye you have to listen me," he pleaded, appealing to the only person who'd agreed with him. "I know Jemma, I know her better than I know myself. This isn't about the plant."

"Maybe she just doesn't want us going out there when there's a trigger happy army of grenade tossers on the lose," she suggested reasonably.

The others had left already but she'd lingered behind, still holding Jemma's hand and she stroked it gently as she stared down at her friend.

"I'll keep an eye him," she promised, eyes on Jemma's face. "But we need to go. Those things could kill someone else while we wait for her to get better. The villagers need to go hunting, it's one of the main sources of food for them. We need to fix this."

"OK," he conceded hesitantly. What could Jeremy do to them anyway? May alone could easily subdue him and Skye had superpowers. What did he have, an extensive knowledge of plant taxonomy? Hardly a threat. "But please, be careful."

"Relax Fitz, we'll be fine," she smiled reassuringly.

/-/-/

When Jemma woke up again bright afternoon light shone in, she could see it through the window, could open her eyes. She could move her hand too, her body and she struggled to sit up.

"Woah, it's OK," Leo said gently, pushing her back down against the pillow. "Just relax, it's wearing off but you need to rest."

"No," she coughed. Her strength was coming back, pouring into her along with a fierce sense of determination. "No, we need to warn the others." She struggled up again. "Where are they?"

"They went with Jeremy-" he told her, frowning, confused.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed, pulling out the IV and shakily placing her feet on the ground. "He tried to kill me," she told him, furious at the memory.

"What?!" he gasped, but she didn't have time to explain things to him.

"What are we waiting for," she demanded impatiently, wobbling as she stood up. Leo held his arms out and she gripped them gratefully, steadying herself. "Do you have anything to communicate with them?"

"Of course, just... just sit down OK," he was clearly trying not to panic, his were eyes wide and his breathing was coming in short, shallow gasps as hers had earlier.

She did as he'd suggested, realizing there was no point in standing for this, not when standing was so difficult.

He tried the coms and swore loudly.

"Damn it," he hissed. "It's just static... I can't...I can't reach them..."

"We have to go find them," she decided. "We'll get help, go see Mr. Jabal and-" but she stopped at the expression of horror on Leo's face and turned to see Jeremy, pointing a gun at her head.

"I really thought I had killed you," he said, almost amused. "One bothersome agent down, only five to go. But you might just serve me better alive. Come with me," he ordered.

"She can barely stand-" Leo protested.

"And she won't be able to do anything with hole in her head will she?" he threatened, raising his voice menacingly.

"Where are our friends?" Jemma shouted at him, refusing to let him intimidate her.

"They're occupied," he smiled. "I have a few friends myself, helping me out. Now hurry up," he snapped.

She glared up him before getting unsteadily to her feet again, held up by Leo as they limped out of the hospital room. She wondered where the nurses and doctors were, the hallways were empty and they reached the exit without being intercepted.

Two other men exited behind them and boarded the hovercraft which was waiting outside for them. She let out a deep breath of relief as she saw the hospital staff watching them go, terrified but unharmed. The men pointed heavy, brutal looking guns in their direction and no one stepped forward. Good, she didn't want anyone getting themselves killed.

The hovercraft took off and she and Leo huddled together, trying to look brave, as those brutal weapons turned to point towards them.

"I need your help," Jeremy explained calmly, gazing at Leo as they sped away, over the long grass.

"Go to hell," he spat at him. "I'll never help you, you slimy piece of rotten filth."

Jemma nodded her solidarity, there was no way they were helping this psycho.

"I wonder how long agent Simmons can hold her breath," he mused, unfazed, his view shifting to her and Leo didn't reply.

Jemma turned to him and saw that his teeth were clenched beneath the tight line of his mouth and that he was glaring at Jeremy. He was shaking his head but his eyes said something different. They were bright and scared and she knew that he had him. He was going to do what Jeremy asked, however awful it was. The evil man had gotten hold of the cord which had fused to Leo's heart and was pulling it, leaving him no choice but to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dadadum! What does this Jeremy fellow want? Maybe you've already guessed?
> 
> The Fringe reference is the "Someone peed in your gene pool." In the second season episode Night of Desirable Objects Walter is impatient with a police officer who isn't understanding what he is telling him and says "We are all victims of our own gene-pool, someone must have peed in yours." That Walter, always making friends... XD.


	9. What Did He Want?

They climbed the edge of a mountain in the hovercraft, Mt. Bast, Leo remembered Gadget telling him about it. The mountain was sacred to the people of Wakanda, no one was suppose to be on it.

He didn't say this though, Jeremy probably knew and didn't care. Leo hated him, he knew it was wrong to hate, his mum had taught him better, Jemma had taught him better but he couldn't help it. This man had tried to kill Jemma, Jemma who was kind to everyone and who loved being alive, who had so much to offer the world. This filthy slime-ball had tried to kill her and now he was carelessly threatening her life to force Leo to do what he wanted. Which, whatever it was, he knew he was going to.

The hovercraft stopped at a plateau, a flat outcrop leading to a dome-shaped cave mouth in the side of the mountain. Over the top of the cave there was a carving of a butterfly, hand bones etched into its wings. Another mutant, he guessed.

Jeremy and the other two men pushed them through, guns pressed into their backs. There was a pond, in the cave, and after a nod from Jeremy one of the grunts dragged Jemma away, pulling her, flailing and screaming into the water.

"Let her go!" he shouted, trying to bolt towards her, but the other grunt hit his side with the edge of the gun and cried out as pain shot through him.

"Leo!" Jemma screamed. "No, stop... stop..." she pleaded, thrashing against her captor, on the verge of tears before she swallowed and closed her eyes, her face set, resolved. "Don't do it," she ordered him courageously, opening them and meeting his gaze strongly. "Whatever he wants, don't do it."

'I have to,' he thought despairingly.

The cave looked man-made. Pillars held up the ceiling and there was a solid, metal door, with a keypad next to it which Jeremy and the other grunt shoved him towards.

"Open it," Jeremy demanded.

"How am I suppose to-" he wondered, not understanding.

"Open it!" he barked.

"But... I've never... it's foreign technology... I don't know if I can..." he stumbled. He didn't want to be afraid of them but he was. They had Jemma.

"I do not care about your excuses," Jeremy snapped impatiently. "I am going to count to ten, then my friend over there is going to hold agent Simmons under the water until you open the door."

Jemma whimpered as he said it, she tried to cover it up with a cough but he knew she was terrified. It wasn't only the threat of her death, it was the threat of her dying in her worst nightmare and the looming reality of it was tearing at his insides.

"Please... I need more time than that," he begged. "Just give me more time."

"L-leo... d-don't," she stuttered, trembling before she grit her teeth. "Don't do it!" she shouted. "Don't-"

The man hit her, cutting her off and Leo saw red, helpless and furious, as she screamed in pain.

"I will give you twenty extra seconds," Jeremy conceded. "One..."

He scrambled to get to work, tearing open the panel, eyes darting over the unfamiliar wiring desperately. He didn't know what to do.

"Twenty five," Jeremy counted, too soon, he was running out of time.

"Please," he sobbed. "I don't know."

"Thirty," Jeremy said coldly and the man shoved Jemma under the water, holding her down as she fought madly, splashing, and the surface bubbled with her escaping air.

Something came over him, a rush of furious strength and he turned back to the panel, thinking quickly. It wasn't so different from the hover-board, he told himself, setting to work. He could do this, had to do this.

He shifted through the wires, feeling the seconds tick by, his heart being crushed the by cold, cruel grip of a clawed hand while the other half of it was suffocating. He couldn't hear her splashing anymore but he couldn't think about that because he needed to open the door.

After what seemed like an eternity it did open, slowly, sending a rumble through the cave.

He let out a shaky breath, feeling as if his bones had been replaced with noodles, and turned back to Jemma to see that the man had hauled her out of the pond and dropped her onto the side of it where she sat, drenched and coughing and spewing out water.

He darted towards her and fell to his knees by her side, allowing her to grip onto his arms as she gulped in air.

"Jemma?" he whispered.

"You.. shou... shouldn't... have..." she panted.

"I know," he answered as she caught her breath and leaned forward to lay her head against his shoulder. "I know but I had too."

"I know," she told him, understanding and he embraced her, still trembling as he held her close to him. "What did he want?" She asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

They watched, arms wrapped around each other, as Jeremy entered the room. A tiny tree with a single, heart-shaped leaf, grew in a beam of sunlight, shining through a small hole in the ceiling.

"It's Dilagbara," she gasped.

"What?" Leo wondered quietly.

"It's a myth... he said it was only a myth but... oh no," she moaned.

"What?" he asked again, still confused but beginning to flll with dread.

"It's going to give him super strength," she said flatly.

Great. Just great, now he'd be insane and insanely strong. What a wonderful combination. Couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Without warning, Jeremy turned on the other two men, shooting them in rapid succession and he and Jemma let out a shriek of terror, holding each other closer as he pointed the gun next at them.

"Not yet," he laughed tauntingly. "You two I get to play with. The Wakandians have guarded this secret for too long, kept it from the outside world like they keep everything else. I wanted to study it, when I was younger, I wanted to learn how to give its strength to the whole world, but they wouldn't let me. They said only their ruler, their king or queen, was worthy." He shook his head angrily. "They simply did not want to share... and neither do I, not anymore." He gazed down at the bodies of the men at his feet coldly.

"You'll never get away with this," Leo warned. "Our team will stop you."

"They're too late," he declared. "You should not have opened the door," he scolded cruelly. "I am going to kill her anyway."

"You'll have to kill me first," Leo snarled and he saw Jemma shake her head out of the corner of his eyes, saw her eyes brighten as she tightened her grip on him.

Then Jeremy ate the leaf, and it seemed almost silly how sick with fear it made Leo, to see a man eat a leaf, but soon after he'd swallowed it he smiled horribly and brought his fist down on one of the pillars, shattering the hard stone as if it were a piece of chalk and sending debris raining down on them.

They screamed again and buried their faces into each other's shoulders.

"Jemma, I'm so sorry," he murmured.

"This isn't your fault," she answered, her voice muffled. "It's mine."

"No," he soothed. How could she say that? "No, I was the one who-"

"Oh shut up," Jeremy growled, lifting him up as if he were a doll and ripping them away from each other.

"Let him go!" Jemma demanded furiously, trying to reach him but her legs still weren't working for her and Jeremy kicked her away as if she were an annoying insect, sending her skidding back several feet before he threw Leo into a wall with a painful thud that knocked that wind out of him and made him see stars.

/-/-/

Leo hit the wall with a thud and Jemma tried to stand up, her stomach aching where Jeremy's foot had collided with it, but her legs weren't co-operating and she fell back onto the ground.

Leo managed to push himself to his feet as Jeremy lunged at her and he intercepted him, hopelessly outmatched but fighting like an angry badger and managing to force the super-strengthened man to stumble back a few steps before he grabbed him slammed him against the stone wall with a loud smack which hit her like another blow to the stomach.

Jemma tried to stand, to get to him, do something because the look of anguish on Leo's face was killing her, but her legs were still jelly underneath her from the slime.

He held Leo up by the scruff of his shirt with one arm and punched him in the stomach. She saw his face twist in pain, eyes shut tightly but Jermey was laughing, enjoying his new found power, and Jemma felt a rare surge of hatred which only intensified when he hit Leo again.

"Get away from him!" she shrieked, bursting with rage, finding the biggest rock she could throw and hurling it at the vile man with all her might.

It crumbled as it hit him and he seemed more annoyed than hurt by it when he turned to face her, still holding up Leo, who struggled weakly against him, clawing at his arm and trying to kick him with his dangling feet.

Jeremy smiled, corrupt and drunk with power, and in one swift motion he hoisted Leo up above his head with both arms and threw him into one of the pillars which crashed on top of him, and sent parts of the ceiling raining down around him.

When the dust cleared, she spotted him lying on his stomach beneath a pile of debris, unmoving as blood trickled down from his hair and onto his face.

"No!" she screamed, beginning to struggle towards him, using her arms to pull her body behind her.. She had to get to him, had to know he was alive, protect him.

She didn't get far though, Jeremy grabbed her, lifted her too and threw her so that she skidded along the floor and landed close to Leo, tearing the skin of her shoulder. Then he took a piece of debris, much larger than her rock, and rose it up above his head, ready to bring it down on her.

Cold fear ran down her spine but Jemma turned away from Jeremy, gazing instead at the face of her precious love and reached out her hand to take his.

"I love you sweetheart," she whispered, gently moving her thumb over the tops of his fingers, tears falling across her nose and dripping onto the floor, mirroring the bright red stream of blood which dripped next to him.

She wasn't sure if he could hear her, or if he was even alive he was so still, but she said it anyway, just in case he could and she held tightly onto his hand in case he could feel it and because it felt right in hers. She held onto him, because, even in death, they were somehow a part of each other, and waited for the crushing blow of the stone.

But it never came.

Jeremy let out a grunt of surprise and she tore her gaze from Leo to see the giant piece of debris floating above his head.

"Get away from them," Skye commanded, furious, and Jemma lifted her head to see her, glaring at Jeremy as small stones flew into the air around her and felt a rush of relief before her thoughts returned to Leo and she was terrified all over again.

He still hadn't moved, and frightened tears stung her eyes as she sat up and carefully felt his neck for a pulse. He stirred and groaned, scrunching up his face, and didn't wake but he was alive and she let out a shaky sigh, tight, painful knots inside of her uncoiling, while she carefully stroked his cheek.

"It's alright sweetheart, Skye's here, we'll be OK," she murmured before resting her hand on his back, comforting both him and herself, and returning her attention to the scene in front of her.

May was right behind Skye, pulling a hover-board towards them.

"Get on," she ordered but Jemma shook her head.

"Take Fitz first," she insisted and May nodded, carefully lifting him on before zooming away.

May wove around Skye and Jeremy and when Jeremy reached out, attempting to grab the board, Skye launched a piece of debris at his arm that sent him spinning in a circle.

Jemma had never seen her lift anything so big, not with her powers. The cave shook with her friend's fury and she rocketed stones at him, pushing him back and away from Jemma.

"What is wrong with you?" She hissed as another rock exploded across his chest. "What did they ever do to you? What did Trip ever do to you?"

What? A lightening bolt of fear crackled through her. What had happened to him?

May was back, maneuvering easily around the fight to get Jemma.

"Trip..?" She breathed.

"He's fine," May assured curtly, helping her stand. "A shot to the leg."

"It would have been to the gut," Skye snarled, hurling another huge pillar fragment at Jeremy but missing this time so that it smashed against the wall and shook the cave.

"Except you lifted him up and he's fine," May reminded her firmly. "Skye you need to calm down."

"I'm OK," she insisted, pelting the man with debris. She didn't look OK.

"Better than your engineer friend," Jeremy taunted and another frighteningly large stone whizzed past him.

"Damn it," May swore, hurrying Jemma onto the board.

She wanted to tell them not to worry, that Leo was going to be alright but she wasn't sure. She understood Skye's anger, hot waves of rage were pulsing through Jemma's own body, but her friend was becoming reckless and putting herself in danger.

"Skye calm down," she called, as they sped away but her words were drowned out by another loud crash.

May let her down a safe distance away, next to Leo who was pushing himself into a sitting position, holding his head. She took his face between her hands carefully and examined the wound. The cut wasn't deep but the skin around it was already bruising and she was worried about internal damage.

"Take it slow," she warned. "Can you tell me your name?"

"What's going on?" he groaned.

"Leo," she chided.

"Leopold Fitz," he told her in a rush. "Jemma what... ow..." He winced and scrunched his eyes shut for a moment.

"Don't worry, May and Skye are here," she assured him quietly. "We're going to be fine."

They returned their attention to Skye who was battling against Jeremy several meters away in the cave. She was incredibly, fearsomely strong, but so was he and she was unfocused. In a flash he dodged his way to her and pinned her against the wall. Floating rocks dropped to the ground all at once, clattering together, as he pressed on her throat.

"Skye!" "No!" they screamed.

May was moving before either of them had finished, dashing towards her on the hover-board with a burning determination. She didn't stop, even when Jememy used his free hand to point his weapon at her. She didn't stop and he was going to kill her.

Jemma's stomach lurched and she flinched, expecting the crack of a shot.

There wasn't one though. Instead Jeremy dropped the gun and crumpled to the ground, limp and still, and Skye dropped to her feet coughing and wheezing, hand on her throat.

"Wha-..." she choked, kneeling down and placing a finger on his neck. She cried out and shot back up, stepping away, and her eyes grew round, frightened. May reached for her, tried to place a hand on her should but she jumped back from her, shuddering. "Don't..." she breathed. She was crying silently, shaking her head.

"Skye..." May soothed, hands up in an attempt at reassurance.

Skye took another step back. "Oh my God," she squeaked. "I can... and I used my powers on Trip... and with you and Simmons..." she let out a sob. "Oh my God..."

"It's OK," May said, calmly, reaching out for her again.

"Don't touch me!" she screeched and May's hand darted back to her side. "I d-don't want to hurt you," she added, quieter, so Jemma had to strain to hear, and her heart broke for her as she burst into tears.

"Skye you saved us," she called, needing to ease her distress. Whatever she could do, she hadn't used it on an innocent. Jeremy had tried to kill them, all of them.

"You saved us and May and Trip," Leo added, encouragingly.

"I know this is scary," May put in gently. "But we'll figure it out."

"No!" she shouted, and the cave shook again.

May stepped forward, gripped both her shoulders and stared at her until she looked up and the cave grew still.

"W-what's wrong with m-me," Skye wailed.

"Nothing," May asserted, embracing her, letting her cry into her shirt. "Nothing is wrong with you," she repeated, rubbing her back and shuffling her away from Jeremy. "We need to go," she told her after a minute.

Skye nodded and May led her to Jemma and Leo but she wouldn't look at them. Jemma lightly touched her arm and Leo did the same. She wasn't going to hurt them, not Skye, and they wanted her know that they believed that, that she didn't have to be frightened.

She sniffed and risked a glance at Leo.

"You OK Fitz?" she asked softly.

"I know my name," he joked and she managed a weak smile.

"What are we going to tell the others?" she whispered, smile disappearing.

"Whatever you want," May said, touching her back comfortingly.

"The truth," she decided. "They need to know what I am... what I can..." she whimpered and Jemma couldn't stand seeing her in pain any longer so she wrapped her arms around her and so did Leo and May and they held onto her until her trembling stopped.

/-/-/

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one last chapter to wrap everything 't worry the plants will be taken care of. 
> 
> The Daligbara is based on a Wakandian plant from Marvel wiki (which is not named, only described as a hear shaped herb). The herb is only allowed to be eaten by the Black Panther (King or Queen of Wakanda) and gives super strength to them.
> 
> The Fringe reference is the butterfly. It is one of the letter glyphs.


	10. I Have Nothing to Worry About

"You need to stay off your feet," Jemma fussed, palms on Leo's shoulders to keep him from rising,

"But you promised-" he accused, pouting at her as he leaned back against the pillow of his hospital bed. Jemma perched beside him on the edge of it, turning her body so she could see both him and Trip, who lay in the next bed.

"Gadget said she would take us monkey-watching later remember? In a hovercraft, so you don't hurt yourself," she stressed the last part, head tilted to the side, warning him with her eyes not to argue.

A concussion was not something to take lightly, he needed to rest. Although, if Jemma was being honest, she might have been acting a tiny smidge overprotective, forcing him to stay in bed, lying down, like she was.

Leo didn't need to know that though and, despite his medical training, Trip wasn't giving her away. Besides, better to be overprotective than underprotective right?

"Fine," he agreed grumpily.

"Just stay away from Mt. Bast," Trip cautioned good-naturedly. "They've already relocated most of the Ikudodo to circle the cave entrance, those are some freeaaaky watch dogs."

"Actually they're a brand new species of  _Dionaea_ ," Jemma corrected, even though she knew what he'd meant, bubbling at bit at the thought. "Now there are two in the genus, they've named it  _Dionaea wakandensis_  and it's protected under the National Species Protection Act of Wakanda. Along with Zakadels of course," she added, smiling fondly at Leo who nodded approvingly, the adorable sweetheart. "But only in selected areas including the ones surrounding Mt. Bast and the Vibranium mine. Rumour has it, Wakandian researchers have found a way to subdue it so people can get around it when they need to. Oh, I'd love to learn the secret!" she gushed. "But of course, you need to be Wakandian for them to tell you." She sighed disappointedly.

Leo and trip were chuckling at her.

"You are far too excited about a new killer plant species popping up," Trip mused.

"Yeah, too excited," Leo agreed but he was grinning at her, a little dopey, eyes almost glassy.

"What?" she asked, smiling back.

"You're adorable," he told her softly, giving her butterflies.

"Not as adorable as you are," she answered warmly, kissing his nose.

"Really guys?" Trip protested, but he was laughing. "I'm right here, stop being so painfully cheezy alright? Seriously, where are the others? I need Coulson May or Skye to balance you out," he struggled to sit up, however Jemma shot him a stern look and he lay back down. "Aww, c'mon Simmons," he objected. "It isn't that bad, if I could just get some crutches..."

"Absolutely not, you'll tear out the stitching," she scolded and he rolled his eyes at her, grinning.

"Fine," he conceded. "I really am worried about Skye though," he added, turning serious.

"Me too," "Yeah," they sighed.

"Has she said anything else?" he wondered worriedly.

"May is talking to her," Leo assured him. "She'll be fine, she knows we don't care what she can do."

"But she must be frightened, poor thing," Jemma lamented. "I can't imagine having that sort of power."

"Anyone can kill someone," Trip pointed out. "It doesn't make her any different from the rest of us."

"Oh but Trip, you should have seen her face," she frowned at the memory and Leo took her hand.

"She'll be fine," he repeated confidently. "We'll all make sure of it. Maybe some monkeys would cheer her up," he suggested brightly.

Jemma narrowed her eyes affectionately at him. "We can ask her," she agreed optimistically.

/-/-/

"I can hear you two talking about me," Skye said flatly from the seat behind them. "Stop worrying."

Leo and Jemma had been exchanging low, concerned whispers for most of the trip, but only because Skye hadn't been talking. She hadn't even looked at them. She still wasn't looking at them.

"Why would they be worried?" Gadget wondered from the pilot seat. She still wore jeans, despite the heat and had on a black shirt with a grey smoke pattern on it. Leo thought it looked a little like a face.

"She had a rough time with the mission," he explained quickly, attempting to avoid awkward questions

"I see," she replied, understanding. "We are very grateful for Shield's help." Gadget told her. "Thanks to you, the Daligbara is safe once more. I admit, I did not believe the legend, I thought it was more old superstition."

"Well...," Jemma began and Leo rolled his eyes.

"Oh no, not this again," he teased.

She nudged him, and it seemed as if she were trying and failing to look annoyed with him. "Yes this again," she giggled. "Technically it isn't an herb. So that part is a myth, or a mistake in the story. An herb doesn't have persistent woody tissue and-"

"And it dies down at the end of the growth season," he finished, smirking at her as she made a face. "Herb, shrub, whatever it was, it was real. We saw it give the man super-strength."

"Maybe there is more to the stories than I thought," Gadget pondered. "Either way, I am glad the Ikudodo is safe. Human trials to treat Jepolo will start in six months." She smiled hopefully and Leo remembered that both her parents had been taken by the diseases.

Jemma had told him it was inheritable, it ran in families. Gadget had it, he wasn't going to ask about it, but he knew she did. It was a recessive gene, each of her parents would have had two copies, it would have been all they could pass on to her. She had time, she was still too young for it to spring up, but he really hoped the trials worked.

"You have my email address right?" He double checked, because he wasn't sure he could swing a quick trip back to Wakanda by Coulson to give it to her after they left and he'd miss talking to her if they couldn't send emails.

"I do," she chirped. "I am looking forward to being able to bounce my ideas off someone... if that is alright."

"Of course," he answered brightly. "As long as I can do the same. And don't forget, when you do travel, and you want to try some ice cream, send me an email and I'll tell you the places where they sell the good stuff."

"As oppose to the bad stuff?" Jemma scoffed, raising an eyebrow at him. "I don't think I've ever seen you turn your nose up at ice cream."

"That doesn't mean there isn't some that's better," he objected and Gadget giggled at them.

He risked a glance back to see that Skye was smiling, slightly, but definitely smiling. They hadn't even encountered the monkeys yet and their plan was working already. He would have raised his hand for a high five from Jemma, but that would have given them away.

"I see you checking up on me," she warned. "Stop worrying guys, I'm out on this amazing monkey quest aren't I? I'm fine."

He exchanged a glance with Jemma, Skye was not fine, but they weren't going to argue.

Something swooped overhead and Gadget halted the craft.

"There," she pointed and they all gazed up to see a pair of Zakadels gazing back from the high branches of a tree.

One of them was grooming itself while the baby, a baby Zakadel, Leo was sure he was getting cavities from the sugary-sweet cuteness of it, swung down haphazardly to get a closer look at them.

It perched a few feet above them and its mother paused her grooming to keep an eye on it.

"Hello," he greeted, waving and it chirped at him. "Aren't you a cute little guy." It chirped again and began leaping from branch to branch, amusing itself with increasingly challenging acrobatics. Leo was impressed. "Show off," he cooed.

"Leo don't move," Jemma hissed suddenly and he fought down a twitch as he noticed the tickly legs climbing up his neck.

"Jemma..." he gasped, struggling to sit still. "Jemma what is it, get it off me!"

"It's a golden haired tarantula," she breathed. "She's gorgeous."

"She?" Skye asked as her and Gadget gathered around to look.

"A male would have a hook on the underside of his first leg, and she's much too big to not be female," she explained happily.

"Jemma," he begged, because he was not at all entertained by the giant venomous creature on his neck. "Please don't let it bite me."

"Do you really think I'd let you get bitten by a tarantula?" she asked, offended. "Just sit still and I'll- there you go."

The legs lifted slowly off his skin and he turned to see she was holding the large arachnid in the palm of her hand.

"Be careful," he warned, uneasy about the fact that she had an animal with such powerful venom perched on as if it were a duckling.

"This animal does not usually bite," Gadget assured him as he worriedly watched Jemma stick her nose up to it. "We have never had a case of it in my village."

"They're not aggressive Leo," Jemma insisted. "You can hold her if you'd like." She held out her hand and the creature in question crawled towards him, eight hairy legs clicking freakishly.

"I'd really rather not..." he objected and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Go back to watching your monkeys then," she chuckled but he couldn't. He couldn't tear his eyes from her because those enormous, spider fangs were mere millimeters away from her skin.

"I'll hold her," Skye offered, extending her hand.

Jemma smiled at her. "Hold your palm flat and I'll let her crawl on," she instructed.

Skye did as she as instructed and the tarantula migrated onto her.

"She's actually kinda pretty," Skye commented, surprised, as she carefully tilted her hand for a better look.

"She's gorgeous," Jemma corrected smiling. "Look at those golden bands, amazing."

"And she's venomous?" Skye asked, still staring at it.

"Incredibly so," Jemma told her cheerfully. "She has several kinds of neurotoxic proteins in her venom."

"But she wont bite," Skye added, looking back at Jemma.

"You have nothing to worry about," she assured her warmly.

Skye smiled back, a real smile that Leo was glad to finally see again. "I have nothing to worry about," she repeated and he had the feeling she was talking about more than the tarantula.

/-/-/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't know if it is really a good idea to pick up venemous creatures, however gentle they are. So be careful with that.
> 
> Fun fact: Venus fly traps are native only to the USA (Specifically a 60 mile radius around Wilmington North Carolina, I have recently been to NC and am disappointed I didn't know to look for them haha). But they have also populated areas of Florida and Washington and have been successfully transplanted in many locations so in my head it mutated from someone's escaped houseplant.
> 
> The whole herb vs. not herb debate was because I accidentally made the plant a tree instead of an herb in the last chapter. But I kept it a tree because it makes more sense to me for it be something that is ancient (like some trees are) not a something that continuously needs to seed and regrow.
> 
> The Fringe reference is the pattern on Gadget's shirt. It is one of the Glyphs. I think I might have done all of them now haha.
> 
> Also thanks once more to notapepper for all their wonderful reviews and for giving me this prompt and inventing the Zakadels in the first place. If you want to see more of these fun monkeys (or just read a great FitzSimmons fic) go check out Oh to be Young. :)


End file.
